We were proud to join our community and Ballina RSL on November 11 to honour the courage and sacrifice of all the soldiers, sailor and airmen who have defended our country in times of war. We lead crowd in the traditional songs that are so much a part of Remembrance Day services. |
We shared the joy of music with the Lighthouse Club at their lunch in early November. We sang a some of our upbeat songs as well as a some of our Remembrance Day repertoire. |
There’s nothing pinker than a room full of women acknowledging Breast Cancer Awareness month. For Pink Night even those who don’t wear pink set aside their usual preferences and put on something pink. Members had fun poring through others’ cast offs and making donations to take their finds home. All the proceeds have gone to the McGrath Foundation. With several members being breast cancer survivors, we also acknowledged 2 of our Rainbow Dragons Abreast paddlers, Juliette and Mel, for their most recent successes with the Rainbow Region Dragon Boat Club. |
Hot on the heels of our sell-out ABBAsolutley Fabulous Broadway Show we’re off and running with a busy program of community performances in Ballina and Alstonville until Christmas. First cab off the rank was a performance for the Ballina RSL Lifecare residents. We love to sing for our community but most of all we love to give joy to our audiences and put smiles on faces.. |
THE ABBASOLUTELY FABULOUS BROADWAY SHOW GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!! Looking for an ABBAsolutely Fabulous night out? |
After a few months hiatus the Headliners Chorus are very happy to announce that we are back performing for the Community. We spent the time welcoming 10 new ladies to the chorus and learning new repertoire and Director, Cath Gordon, is extremely happy with the results. We recently sang at the Ballina RSL Anzac Day Dawn Service and again at the Cenotaph for the Day Service and it was a great honour for us all to be part of this. We also sang at the Lighthouse Club in the Richmond Room and were delighted to be invited back to sing later in the year. Recently the chorus hit a milestone and celebrated its 20th Anniversary as a chartered SAI (Sweet Adelines International) chorus. To mark the occasion one of our ladies took on the task of making a book to capture the memories and the journey of the chorus to its present state. The book launch was a celebration for past and present members, and we were delighted when our Mayor, Sharon Cadwallader, joined us for champagne at the RSL for the book launch. Julia Murphy has done a wonderful job and managed to capture the essence of the chorus from its inauguration to the present with beautiful photos and snippets which have been collated and remind us all of the wonderful experiences we have shared over the years. It has already sold out its first edition and been reordered. Go Julia!!!!! At an open rehearsal in May we were visited by the students of St Josephs Primary School Alstonville and they joined us in our warm ups and in singing “A Million Dreams”, a song both chorus and choir were learning and it was an experience which gave great delight to all concerned. Our own concert on 14th September in the Ballina RSL will be a bobby dazzler and we are excited to be once again putting on a BIG show for the community. It will be our first one since COVID so save the date. |
How fantastic is it to see five of our dedicated Headliners nominated for Headliners Swee Adeline of the Year 2024 award - Lucy, Cath, Carol, Paola and Tracey.
And the winner is..... Lucy....
Congratulations Lucy and well deserved! |
Christmas is always such a wonderful time of year and is when the Headliners shine the brightest. What a fabulous Christmas 2023 it has been for the Headliners being able to be back out in the community singing those wonderful Carols.
December 4th - Christmas Open Rehearsal
December 18th - Crowley Care Christmas Party
December 19th - Bangalow Uniting Church - Christmas Tree Festival
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Following on from an extremely successful recruitment drive, you would have seen in our earlier news items that the Headliners has now grown from 30 members to its largest-ever membership of 40 Headliners. Wow, what a fabulous year we have had. On top of that, in the last few months, the Headliners have been busy with differing events:
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Welcome to our two newest members Kate and Carole. Headliners has grown by 25% over the past few months with ten new members joining the chorus. We are beyond excited to be welcoming you all and sharing the joy of singing together in this wonderful group of women. |
Thanks to our Publicity Manager Judi, the Headliners found themselves in the local rag recently - the article explains how to become a Headliner, come on you know you want to! |
What a fabulous achievement, the Headliners have turned 20 and are still going strong with one existing member still singing (and keeps us on the straight and narrow).
Members past and present had a magic night, some wearing costumes from over the years and of course there was plenty of bling all round. We mingled, reminisced, and heard stories that would make your hair curl! What fun the Headliners have had over the years and continue to have every day. Gwen provided us with an entertaining blast from the past recapping some of the mischief the Headliners have got up to over the years. Claire, our ever supportive and helpful RSL representative, was made an honorary member of the Chorus. Those Headliner pins are not given out to just anyone! Lyn our oldest serving member and Carol our newest member did the honours of cutting the beautiful cake.
The night ended with a good old sing song (of course), you could see those memory banks churning when they pulled out some of the old tunes.
And a big shout out to the RSL for providing the cake and drinks so that we could celebrate in style.
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Ballina RSL Club recently hosted an evening to celebrate the 2023 ‘Community Outreach Initiative’ recipients. Cath, our amazing Musical Director, attended and received an award, on behalf of the chorus, The award was presented to the Headliners Chorus in recognition of the exceptional service we provided to the community. |
The Headliners where honoured to be invited, by Rotary Ballina-on-Richmond, to perform at this year’s recent Annual Change Over Lunch. |
How lucky are we Headliners as we offer a big welcome to our four new members Rachel - tenor, Carmel - baritone, Kerrie- bass and Robyn - baritone.
Ballina RSL Club |
Welcome to our three newest members, Tina (Bari), Sally (Lead), and Helena (Bari). We are so excited to have you onboard! |
Celebrating their 100th event, Rous Unplugged hosted an All-Stars event with all varieties of acts but professional and semi-professional. Rous Unplugged supports the Sierra Leone Educational Charity. The Headliners happily provided their donation in supporting this charity in an act comprising of: Count on Me, December ’63 (Oh, What a Night), Anthem, Do You Hear The People Sing and The Parting Glass. |
“Ladies and gentlemen, close the doors and take your seats. Next, we have Chorus number 11, led by the most talented Cathy Gordon from Ballina New South Wales, the Headliners.” The lights come up, the glitter sparkles and the Headliners break into their entertaining and unique version, adapted by non-other than our very own Cathy Gordon, of “If I Give My Heart To Shoes”, though you might know it as “If I Give My Heart To You”. The crowd are surprised, they are laughing, they are engaged, we have done all we set out to do, but wait there’s more. It’s time to get up of the couch and step outside our comfort zone, take a new step and seize the day which each and every Chorus member did, and we all enjoyed every minute of it. To hear and see the Headliners at this years Sweet Adeline’s Australian National Convention, “Rise and Shine” held in Brisbane click here to view their outstanding performance. Headliners - Sweet Adelines Region 34 - 2023 Chorus Entry (Forward to 2hrs 51mins) Competition Winners We extend our Congratulations to the Skylarks Quartet and Endeavour Harmony Chorus the winners of Region 34 Competition 2023. |
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It is with great thanks we celebrate the dedication of our outstanding members that make up our outgoing Management Team. We would be lost without them.
Thank you for your time, energy and enthusiasm in keeping our chorus on track. And now we welcome, with forward thanks, our new and returning members of this year’s Management Team.
Thank you for taking on these roles and for keeping us in ship shape!
Office Bearers
Team Coordinator Ingrid Communications Coordinator Sharon Treasurer Kay Assistant Finance Coordinator Christine Membership Coordinator Tracey Performance Coordinator Outgoing - Paola, Incoming - Jill Publicity Coordinator Judi General member Susie Appointment of Director Music Director Cathy Director Nominated Positions Director's Assistants Team Sue and Margot Librarian Lynn Copyright Kerry Historian / Tech Resources Marg Showmanship Team Suzanne, Christine, Juliette and Jan Visual Team Tracey, Julia and Susan Music Committee Section Leaders Kerry, Narelle, Margot, Jan, Mel and Julie Assistant Section Leaders Tracey, Paola, Christine and Sharon |
What a beautiful start to any morning, singing in memory of our fallen comrades,
‘Lest We Forget’.
This was the first year the Headliners have had the opportunity to sing at the Ballina RSL sub-Branch Anzac dawn and commemoration services, and what a true honour it was.
Image provided by RSL Ballina |
How fantastic was it to see four of our dedicated members nominated for this year’s Sweet Adeline of the Year award - Susan, Kay, Wendy, and Tracey. And the winner is……Susan…. Susan has been a member of our chorus for 20 years. She sings Lead and is a member of the Visual Team. Susan has donated innumerable hours over many years to building, painting, and sewing for us, with fabulous results. She has provided us with many things that keep our image elevated in our community. Her sense of style is invaluable. She has created brilliant set designs and props, made our silk scarves and capes, assembled decorations for our performances, and sewn exquisite gifts for our coaches. Our costumes and accessories come alive with her efforts. Susan’s dedication is also demonstrated by her consistent attendance at rehearsals despite arduous travel conditions. Susan’s contribution to our chorus over many years has earned her this year’s Sweet Adeline of the Year award.
Thank you for all that you do!
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Congratulations to 5 of our amazing members Jill, Kay, Jan, Ingrid, and Kate on celebrating 10 years with the Headliners and what fun they’ve had!
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Fabulous work team! Our latest Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings Ballina was co-hosted with Ballina’s Dragon Boat team ‘Ballina Dragons’. Unfortunately, it was not just the sausage that were sizzling. However, the team did a wonderful job and returned with a handsome profit making it a worthwhile day. Proceeds will help support the Headliners in their trek to this year’s Sweet Adelines convention in May. Thank you, Bunnings Ballina and Ballina Dragons, for supporting us on our journey to Brisbane for the convention, and a massive thank you to our amazing volunteers and plentiful hungry customers. |
Welcome to our, first in a while, newest member. We are looking forward to you joining our Baritone Section and we can already see that your passion and cheekiness will be a great asset to the chorus. |
Now that the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have eased, the Headliners were delighted to warm up their voices and get back out into the community. What better way to start than in supporting Ballina Shire Council’s Flood Commemoration event at the recent ‘Mayor’s Morning Tea’.
This wonderful community event was held at Missingham Park where the Headliners provided live music alongside free kids face painting, coffee, doughnuts and ice cream. Ballina Mayor, Sharon Cadwallder’s spoke of how ‘[she] thought it was important to provide an opportunity for a relaxed gathering, where together we can reflect on all that has passed and build strength as we look ahead; at what still needs to be done in our community, as we continue to recover’. It was magic to share in this celebration and support the community in this event. |