#39 — Janelle Colquhoun: "I'm Blind, Whatever!"

In this episode of Better Thinking, Nesh Nikolic speaks with Janelle Colquhoun about her incredible life before and after blindness. Her “I'm Blind, Whatever!” attitude is contagious and inspiring!

At age 10, Janelle Colquhoun was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which she ignored as she pursued her passion to be on stage. During school she took music, dance and drama lessons, performed in choirs, stage shows, dance revues and played trumpet in concert and jazz bands before winning a scholarship to study opera at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.

At the end of expo Janelle accepted a full-time contract with the Australian Opera, where a highlight was singing in a trio with Dame Joan Sutherland in her Farewell Season.

Two years and many successful singing competitions later, Janelle moved to Europe where she sang with the Oper Frankfurt until aged 29 she went blind from the complications of diabetes.

She moved back to Brisbane and between many more diabetes-related health issues including stomach cancer, 3 years of dialysis, a heart attack, a kidney-pancreas transplant, and since being immunosuppressed a chronic lung infection, her ongoing professional performances continued with singing the High Priestess in Michael Edgley’s stadium production of Aida, singing the Four Last Songs with the Brisbane Sinfonia, and being a principal in the Access Arts / IHOS Opera experimental opera ‘The Divine Kiss’.

Janelle has recorded 3 solo CDs and has appeared as singer, speaker, workshop facilitator and media spokesperson throughout Australia and in Paris, Bermuda, Seoul, Chicago, Montreal, Switzerland, Dubai, London, Auckland, Berlin, New Delhi, Singapore and Kathmandu.

In 1999 Janelle established Salubrious Productions, an entertainment and production agency specialising in representing professional artists with disability. She has produced over 1400 mainstream and disability stream events including concerts, art exhibitions, pantomimes, cabarets and a film. She has held innumerable contracts with the Brisbane City Council including the classical and world music lunchtime concert series 2002-2015, and the Children’s and Music Library Series 2002-2012.

Janelle is the convener of Sisters in Crime Queensland and has sat on 24 NGO and government committees including the peer panels of the Brisbane City Council, Arts Queensland and Australia Council. Currently she sits on five state and federal health committees as a consumer representative.

Although Janelle had never previously been interested in sports, in 2017 she took up blind archery and in 2019 became the Australian Indoor and Outdoor Blind archery Champion and record holder for both.

Episode links at https://neshnikolic.com/podcast/janelle-colquhoun

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