July 22, 2025 • 27 mins
This week, Simon chats to William Morgan, who's passionate about singing and sound production. Williams sings int he Perth pride Choir and the Humdrum Choir, which he also helps organise. William is a caring, vibrant member of the Perth disability community and in this uplifting discussion he shares openly about all that music and the choir communities bring to his life.
Find out more about the Perth Pride Choir including their upcoming performances on their website.
Find out more about the Humdrum Choir on their Facebook page.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:17):
Hello, I'm Simon Chong and welcome to In Plain Sight,
a program where we highlight people who are making a
difference and impact within the disability sector and their community.
We shine a light on those who otherwise would be
hidden in plain sight, and it's a pleasure to bring
you these programmes on a weekly basis here on Vision
Australia Radio.
S2 (00:37):
Hi, I'm Andrew Williams and I'm joined in the studio
as every week by Simon Chong. How are you, Simon?
S1 (00:45):
Hello, Andrew. I'm great. Had a good week and I'm
really excited, as always to be part of this fantastic show.
And we've had a few good programs go to the
last few weeks, and we've got another great show for
you coming up soon. And can you tell us about
what's happening in this week's show? Andrew.
S2 (01:01):
Sure. You had a great chat with William Morgan, who's
with the Perth Pride Choir. I joined the Perth Pride
Choir about the middle of last year. And as you'll
hear from William, he joined early last year and we've
kind of become good mates through that. So William is
a tenor and I hang out up the back in
the bass section. So we have a lot of fun
(01:23):
every week rehearsing all kinds of repertoire from, oh gosh,
we do Nessun Dorma, we do a bit of opera,
we do a bit of Beyonce, all kinds of different
things we're doing. And as you'll hear from from William,
he's also involved in another community choir here in Perth,
and he'll be giving you some more information about that
as the interview unfolds.
S1 (01:44):
Yeah, I found it a really fun to be with William.
He's only 26 years old. I say only because I'm much,
much older than that. And I loved his enthusiasm and
his passion. And as I mentioned, we are still in
the month of July, which is disability pride. And he
does really demonstrate that pride that you get with somebody
(02:08):
that loves what they do and has pride in with
themselves and being part of the choir and being part
of his community. And it was a really great thing. Andrew,
how long have you been in the choir?
S2 (02:22):
Well, um, only I say only. Yeah, about 12 months. Um,
joined winter of last year, and it's been a great
experience to to join the choir again, as you'll hear
from from William, it's like we're one big family and
it's just joyous for getting together. And it doesn't matter.
(02:42):
You know, on the particular day that you head off
for your weekly rehearsal, you can feel, you know, a
bit plain. Um, but once you get in there and
you exercise your lungs and you start to sing, and
especially with 40 or 50 other people week after week, um,
it's just a fantastic experience. And you just come out
at the end of it energised and it's great knowledge
(03:05):
knowing that you're putting together something as, as a group.
So everybody's contribution results in something that is sort of
much bigger than the individual parts, if that makes sense.
S1 (03:15):
It does. And I look forward to seeing the choir
at some point next time they do a public performance.
S2 (03:21):
Yeah, we've actually got some performances coming up at the
end of the year, so that'll be in early December.
You'll be hearing about that later on. But the performances
take place in UWA at the Dolphin Theatre. And uh,
it's an excellent opportunity to see a choir that comes
together and produces such fantastic music. Under the music direction
(03:44):
of the fantastic Morrell Hopwood and our brilliant accompanist, Sammy McSweeney.
It's just it's a joy to watch those two together,
just bringing it all together and bringing the best out
of everybody who's coming together just for the joy of singing.
S1 (03:57):
That's lovely and that's fantastic. Now we'll get into the
interview very shortly, but one thing I wanted to add,
which didn't come out in the interview, which was spoken
about off air, was that our guest, William Morgan, got
the confidence to go into the pride choir because he
started the community choir within the disability sector. And that's
(04:20):
a common thread amongst people that I know and am
involved with that go off and do something in a
smaller scale in a in a local community environment, and
then you can feel the confidence and have the ability
to go off and do something as bigger and better,
like in this case, the pride choir. And we look
forward to hearing what William has to contribute for us now.
(04:46):
This week our guest is William Morgan, and we're still
in the month of July, and July is Disability Pride Month.
And interestingly enough, William is part of the Pride Choir,
so I thought it'd be great to bring him into
the studio today and have a chat to him about
all that and a lot, much more. And I'd like
to welcome William to the studio now. Hello, William.
S3 (05:08):
Hey, Simon. How are you doing?
S1 (05:09):
I'm doing really well. So firstly, I'll get you to
introduce yourself a little bit and just tell us a
little bit about yourself. You know, your background, who you are,
how you got involved with singing and. And what's the
nature of your disability as well. Because talking about disability pride.
S3 (05:25):
Um, well, disability Pride Month is a beautiful thing. And
I think it's great that we're we've got these focuses, um,
on these programs. My name is Will. Yeah. I have
done lots of different things in my life. Um, study
wise and almost professionally wise, a couple of professionally wise things.
I've got a condition called SMA. It's a genetic condition
(05:49):
that affects one in.
S1 (05:51):
What do those letters stand for?
S3 (05:52):
Spinal muscular atrophy. Mhm. It's. Yeah, it's quite a rare one.
Um none of my siblings had it.
S1 (06:00):
Would that be kind of similar to muscular dystrophy and
other similar kinds of things, or. No.
S3 (06:06):
Um, it gets compared. It looks a bit similar. Um,
but in its actual function in the body, I think
it's a bit different. Um, but yeah, it affects, it
affects the muscle growth. Um, so I use a wheelchair
and I have contractures in my joints, things like that. Um,
I've had a surgery on my spine for a spinal
fusion when I was 11. Gosh. Um, so my, I've
(06:31):
got one vertebrae free at the bottom and about three
at the top, and the rest is fused in titanium.
S1 (06:36):
Right now, it gets me to your hobby of singing.
How did you get involved with that?
S3 (06:41):
Well, the voice is the most beautiful thing. It is, um,
I can see that.
S1 (06:47):
When used with love.
S3 (06:49):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. As it should. I got into singing very,
very young. Um, I started off touring with the Variety
Youth Choir. They are a charity organization that run with variety.
You've probably heard of it. And I took singing lessons
when I was a kid, um, with a private teacher
(07:10):
who taught me a lot. Um, that was really, really fun. Um,
I think that my parents kind of angled me into
singing because it is so, so helpful. Helpful to have
a voice. It's helpful, um, on your lungs, on your diaphragm,
on all of all of those muscles that you need, um,
(07:31):
and for a compromised, um, body, um, with a with
a compressed, um, left lung as well. Um, that was
a a very, um, good idea on their part. Um,
and on top of that, it's a beautiful, fun communal activity.
And it's a, it's a level playing field, you know,
(07:53):
it's a physical thing. Um, and yeah, with enough practice,
you can get halfway decent. I think I'm halfway decent now. Hopefully, um,
three quarters of the way decent in the next five,
ten years. Um, that would be. That would be great. Great. Um, yeah.
There's a million reasons to sing.
S1 (08:13):
So I believe that you're part of the pride choir.
Is that right?
S3 (08:17):
Yeah. I joined Pride Choir early last year and fell
in love with it and all its people and, um,
the the the conductor and the accompanist and, um. Yeah,
some really close friends in the choir as well. Um,
I've met my partner in the choir as well.
S1 (08:36):
Lovely.
S3 (08:36):
Um, in the bass section. Um, yeah. And I've met
some really, really close friends in there as well.
S1 (08:43):
And what have been some of the highlights, apart from
just the joy of singing in a choir, which we
know is a beautiful thing in itself. And listening to
a choir is a wonderful experience. But what has been
some of the highlights of being part of that choir
been for you?
S3 (08:59):
There's heaps. Oh my gosh. There's a million things.
S1 (09:01):
Tell me. Two.
S3 (09:02):
Two. Yeah. Um. I love performing. Performing is a great,
great joy. And we have done quite a few performances around, um,
the city. Um, over the year. And then at the
end of the year, we have a big concert we
had at UWA. Last year we did, um, about 14
(09:23):
songs over an hour. I did a duet with a
very good friend of mine. We did Forget Me not
by the Civil Wars. It's a very beautiful love song. Um.
Very country. Um, and that was very, very special. I
got a lot of great feedback from that.
S1 (09:41):
So the duet is like a lead.
S3 (09:43):
Yeah. Yeah. So we got the the piano drum and
the bass to, um, learn a song. And then it
was the two of us harmonizing with each other. That
was very, very special.
S1 (09:54):
Wow.
S3 (09:55):
We got some great feedback. There was, one man particularly
I remember very, very well who approached us afterwards. He
was in tears, and he was telling us how much
it meant to him. And and he seemed really affected.
And I'll never forget that. He he really, um, it
(10:16):
was a joy to sing that in the moment. And
then to be able to connect with someone was just unreal.
S1 (10:23):
It is beautiful experience. So in its totality, how many
people are in the choir?
S3 (10:30):
God, I think we're when everyone's there, I think we're
about 60, 70 people. Wow. Now? Um, yeah. Pretty much.
We get a big room, maybe 55, 50 people every
rehearsal on a Thursday night. It's pretty amazing.
S1 (10:44):
Okay. And just for those who are interested, where do
you do the rehearsals and how would someone get involved
with the choir?
S3 (10:50):
Totally, totally. Well, we rehearse at Royal Park Hall every
Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. till about 915.
S1 (10:59):
What suburb is that located?
S3 (11:01):
That's central. It's in the city. It's on the edge of, um. Leederville.
S1 (11:05):
Okay.
S3 (11:06):
Yeah, it's a really nice spot. Um. Good acoustics. Um,
and you can find us on, on the internet. If
you type in Perth Pride Choir. There's lots of information
on the website. It's a zero audition choir. So you
can sound like a dying cat, and that's fine. Don't
worry about it. Oh, good. We'll whip you into shape. Um,
(11:27):
I've never met a dying cat in that choir, but, um,
I've met people that have sounded significantly better after even
a few rehearsals with the. With the really brilliant training
of our conductor.
S1 (11:40):
Great. Now, you mentioned you're only 26 years old.
S3 (11:43):
That's right.
S1 (11:44):
And you also mentioned that you've dabbled in a couple
of different professions or hobbies or activities. Tell us a
couple of those that you've tried your hand at.
S3 (11:53):
Totally. Well, most of them have been almost, um, professions
and almost, um, hobbies. Um, I went to three different
universities to study four different courses, five different times. Wow.
So that's been a lot of fun.
S1 (12:08):
And I've had a history like that.
S3 (12:10):
Yeah. Yeah. It's great. Um, bit of bit of, um,
not dread per se, but, um. Wow, I hate this. Um,
studying is not for me. Um, but I studied economics.
I studied financial math. I studied just straight math as
well for a while. Um, at UWA for.
S1 (12:30):
So you've got an interesting maths.
S3 (12:32):
Yeah. Yeah, I love math. I watch recreational YouTube maths
just when I'm eating my lunch, you know, solve this equation.
It's really it's it's it's silly, but I like it. Um,
it's a nice little way to, um, half switch off,
but half be kind of, um, following. And there's all
(12:52):
these fun techniques that you learned. And anyway, gosh, I'm
not going to rabbit on about that any longer.
S1 (12:57):
Um, because you'll lose me. So how did you get
interested in maths in the first place?
S3 (13:02):
Um, school. I guess it was just one of the
easy ones. Um.
S1 (13:06):
Oh, God. It's not what most people say.
S3 (13:08):
Um, I mean, yeah.
S1 (13:10):
Easy for.
S3 (13:10):
You. Easy for me, I guess. Also, my parents got
me a bit angled into that as well. Um, you know,
we'd be in the car ride and mum would try my,
my three times tables, my four times tables growing up.
And I would like to impress her and and do
well and, and it's, it's, it's a, a big big.
(13:31):
Well math is a big big well and very deep
and very um, wide as well. And the difficulty of
that makes it really fun, you know, and when you
muck it up and muck it up and muck it
up and then get it finally, that's a that's a
great feeling. And I model a lot of my life
around that concept. You know, the tougher something is, um,
(13:53):
the more the more rewarding it is when it becomes
second nature.
S1 (13:58):
Now, I know, um, a lot of people that have
a disability or an illness or an impairment, they have
to look at that. Talking about the toughest something is
the more they find it a challenge and they more
they get involved with it or into it. Tell me,
what are some of the other aspects of living with
s that you, you find can be? Do you ever
(14:19):
find it rewarding. For instance.
S3 (14:22):
Mhm mhm mhm. Definitely. Well uh reward is almost inherently
linked to um challenge I think for sure. Um there are,
there are a lot of challenges in it. There's a
lot of challenges with um managing people is probably the,
the biggest one. Um, because I manage, um, all my staff, um,
(14:44):
I don't do like rostering and things like that. But um,
in terms of.
S1 (14:48):
So that's in regards to the NDIS.
S3 (14:50):
Yeah that's right, but I have people for that. But
you know I have to manage them. I have to, um,
teach them their job. I have to, um. Explain it
in a way that is correct and authentic to me
and what I need. Yep. Um, and, you know, um,
hiring people, letting people go is a big one. Um,
(15:12):
quite challenging at times, for sure.
S1 (15:14):
I'll just interrupt there, because one of the reasons I
brought that up, because a common thread is that a
lot of people who have a disability also don't have
a job. And finding employment, especially employment that they want,
is quite difficult for people living with a disability. And
what we try to tell people is that often people
(15:39):
have great problem solving skills and management skills, because that's
what they have to do to manage their life every day.
Would you agree with that, William?
S3 (15:50):
Yeah, absolutely. Depending on their condition as well, or their
circumstance or their upbringing or the resources available to them. Um,
I've seen some, some very difficult, um, situations where people
aren't able to, to speak for themselves or, or advocate
or get what they want. And that's a tricky one.
(16:11):
And we need we need to navigate that a lot better. Definitely.
S1 (16:15):
Yeah. I also believe that you're involved with one of
the service providers called Humdrum Down, based down in Fremantle.
Is that right?
S3 (16:23):
Yeah, absolutely I do. Um, another choir there, actually. Um,
that's my second, second choir. Um, I'm poly choirs, um,
which is, which is a lot of fun for me
and them, I think. Um, yeah, it's called Humdrum Choir.
It's every Monday at 530 to 7, and I do
(16:44):
a little bit of, um, facilitating in that choir a
bit of conducting, um, teaching some songs, um, which is very,
very rewarding. And I, I, um, steal a lot of
ideas from the choir and what Morrell teaches us, um,
because she's got a lot of tools in her tool kit,
(17:05):
which I, I sample and I use, um, and yeah,
having having that other choir there and being able to
teach is one of the best things I do.
S1 (17:16):
Excellent.
S3 (17:16):
Um, it's an absolute joy. I, I relish it a lot.
S1 (17:20):
Tell me about the people that are involved with that
choir at humdrum.
S3 (17:23):
Yeah. So you get all different kinds. Um, it's a
mix of, um, you know, background, um, of of of
all kinds. It's a mixture of abilities. It's a mixture of, um,
musical experience. And it's a lot of fun, you know,
it's not the most professional choir in the world. We
(17:48):
don't we don't tour with, you know, to sing for
the King. But we have a lot of fun. And, um,
we sing together and we harmonize. And it's a low pressure,
just fun, easy environment.
S1 (18:00):
Community based.
S3 (18:01):
Yeah. And that's also a no auditions choir. Um, so
if you live around here and you want to have
a thing come down, check us out. It's it's a
lot of fun.
S1 (18:09):
And where's that based, then?
S3 (18:10):
Uh, that's on one, two, three South Street in Beaconsfield.
That's our humdrum offices.
S2 (18:17):
You're listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio
with Simon Chong and me, Andrew Williams. Today we're joined
in the studio by William Morgan, who is passionate about
singing and sound production.
S1 (18:32):
I believe that you also have an interest in sound
and sound producing, and you want to have your own
sound business, is that right?
S3 (18:40):
Totally. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's kind of an extension from
the singing I have recently. Well, I say recently, it's
been the last couple of years now, been developing a
bit of, um, skills with like producing music, for example. Um,
I have a tutor who teaches me how to edit
(19:01):
audio and, and, um, EQ cueing and and delays and
all all that jazz. Um, I'm still pretty new at
that side. Um, I'm also getting taught how to facilitate
live sound. Yep. So we had a fundraiser for another
organisation I'm with called Activate Tree Planting. Um, they are fantastic.
(19:25):
We've just recently planted 20,000 trees in Lower Chittering, and
a few weeks before that we held a karaoke fundraiser
with my audio setup. So my speakers and my mixer,
my microphones, all that jazz and my projectors and it
was a lot of fun. That was probably the biggest
(19:46):
event I've held.
S1 (19:47):
So you were the host of the karaoke event?
S3 (19:50):
Yeah, yeah. I really love my audio. And being able
to to to create an event like that, um, out
of thin air is beautiful. It is absolutely beautiful.
S1 (20:02):
It's often something that a lot of people are looking
for when they're hosting an event, someone to help set
up the PA, the microphone and the speakers and so on.
So they don't have to organize it because they say,
all right, we'll have an event and there'll be speeches
and so on. And so the facility doesn't have its
own PA, and people like yourself can come in and,
(20:22):
and host it for them.
S3 (20:23):
Totally. Yeah. That's my goal. Um, I want to I
want to learn as much as I can about it
and get really good, um, and and start a business
if possible. The business side of things isn't my main focus. I'm.
I'm more just focused on creating, um, beautiful events right
now and, and, um, but honestly, the way I'm going,
(20:43):
it just seems like that's, that's going to be, um,
a step on the path because, um, it just keeps evolving. Yeah,
I absolutely adore it. And it's such a deep, deep skill. Yeah.
Like singing, um, and like conducting as well, which I
love doing. Um, all these different areas of music and
(21:06):
sound have, have this depth and this breadth and this
adjacency to each other, which I find so compelling.
S1 (21:13):
You are going to be doing a fundraiser for the
Pride Choir, uh, in September sometime. Is that right?
S3 (21:19):
That's right. We're looking at doing another fundraiser early September.
We haven't completely locked in a venue yet. It's in
the early stages. Um, but we are, um, raising money
for our first of all next year. It's called Out
and Loud. It's a really beautiful festival where we invite
pride choirs from all around Australia and a few from
(21:41):
different parts of the world as well. Um, all choirs,
all pride. And we get together about 300 people for
a really big choir. Uh, and we do some performances, um,
throughout the city. It's going to be phenomenal. Um, it's
only every few years they host it, and this, um,
this time it's Perth. It's going to be fantastic. I'm
(22:04):
so excited for it. Um, and yeah, obviously we need
a bit a bit of money to raise for that.
And so we've decided on another karaoke party, um, a
bit more of a dance focus as well. I think
we've talked about a dance floor.
S1 (22:17):
So given all that you've said, I find it really
fun and interesting to talk with you. William, what would
you say to someone that has a physical disability that
has never thought about singing in any shape or form,
especially in a choir? What would you say to help
them get involved with something like singing? Not necessarily in
a choir, but in something like what you're doing.
S3 (22:37):
Mhm. Mhm mhm.
S1 (22:38):
Because some people think oh I've got a physical disability
maybe I can't do that.
S3 (22:42):
Definitely. I think there's a million reasons to think I
can't do that.
S1 (22:48):
Mhm.
S3 (22:49):
And they are all bogus. Yeah. I don't believe in
that at all. It makes sense why you would think that.
And the thought I can't do that comes into mind
every now and then with different activities for sure. But
really if you can talk you can sing. Yep. And
(23:11):
you can really only get better as well.
S1 (23:17):
Yeah.
S3 (23:18):
And in a choir setting especially, you've got everyone else
there as backup. You're you're no longer yourself in a choir.
You actually become everyone. There's this really beautiful moment Where
we were going through our choreography, um, through one of
(23:40):
our songs. It was a click, and I can't click
my fingers. You know, I don't I don't have the
strength for that. Um, so I usually just look like
I'm clicking and everyone else is clicking for me, and, um,
I never really thought about it in those words until
one day someone else spoke up and said, oh, what
if you know, what if we can't click? And I
think this person actually could click, but I think they
were thinking of either me or I don't know anyone
(24:02):
else who couldn't click. And they said, oh, shouldn't we
do something else that's not clicking? And our conductor thought
about it for a second and said, let everyone else
click for you. And it was kind of a innocuous remark,
but really, that's what's happening. You know, I don't do that,
(24:25):
but I do the action and I, I give it
my intention and everyone else picks up my slack. Okay.
And that happens with voice too. You know, you might
think also, I can't even hit all the notes. I
pretend to hit all the notes and I, you know,
when it gets really high and I know it's I
lose it. But I let everyone sing for me. And
(24:46):
in a choir, you're there with everyone. And it is
the most amazing feeling just to nail one song, one line,
one note. Sometimes we just linger on one good note
and there's all these harmonies and it's beautiful. I just
(25:06):
melt away.
S1 (25:07):
Unfortunately, time's run out for us now. William, is there
anything you'd like to end the conversation with before we
have to say goodbye?
S3 (25:14):
Yeah, I suppose going back to your question before, you know,
like I said, there are there are a million reasons
to doubt. And there's there's always going to be some
reason you shouldn't do something. But at the end of
the day, you can only get better at what you do.
You're not really going to get worse. Yeah. And if
(25:36):
you have some voice telling you to go do something,
something new or get better at something, that voice is
in you for a reason. Yeah. And I would encourage
everyone listening to pay attention to that voice and be
gentle with it and be gentle with yourself.
S1 (25:56):
Yeah. I echo that remark entirely. It's great to see
your positive energy there, William. Really have enjoyed you sharing
that with us today in the studio at Vision Australia Radio.
So thanks for being with us, Will. It's been a
really fun and enlightening conversation, and I hope you get
good response from all the choirs that you're involved with.
(26:19):
And I hope that your business picks up providing the
PA support for people and providing karaoke parties for people.
S3 (26:27):
Oh heck yeah. Absolutely. It's a great time.
S1 (26:30):
I look forward to partaking in one of your karaoke
parties sometime real soon. So thanks again for joining us
on In Plain Sight and Vision Australia Radio, and hope
to speak to you again sometime.
S3 (26:40):
Thank you so much, Simon, for you too.
S1 (26:42):
And that's all we've got for today, folks. Thanks for
joining us. Speak to you soon.
S2 (26:57):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us
at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio,
VA radio digital and online at Radio.com. You can also
listen on demand by searching for In Plain Sight by
Vision Australia Radio. Wherever you get your podcasts, or ask
your smart device to play in Plain Sight by Vision
(27:19):
Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
S1 (27:21):
Thank you.
Hello, I'm Simon Chong and welcome to In Plain Sight,
a program where we highlight people who are making a
difference and impact within the disability sector and their community.
We shine a light on those who otherwise would be
hidden in plain sight, and it's a pleasure to bring
you these programmes on a weekly basis here on Vision
Australia Radio.
S2 (00:37):
Hi, I'm Andrew Williams and I'm joined in the studio
as every week by Simon Chong. How are you, Simon?
S1 (00:45):
Hello, Andrew. I'm great. Had a good week and I'm
really excited, as always to be part of this fantastic show.
And we've had a few good programs go to the
last few weeks, and we've got another great show for
you coming up soon. And can you tell us about
what's happening in this week's show? Andrew.
S2 (01:01):
Sure. You had a great chat with William Morgan, who's
with the Perth Pride Choir. I joined the Perth Pride
Choir about the middle of last year. And as you'll
hear from William, he joined early last year and we've
kind of become good mates through that. So William is
a tenor and I hang out up the back in
the bass section. So we have a lot of fun
(01:23):
every week rehearsing all kinds of repertoire from, oh gosh,
we do Nessun Dorma, we do a bit of opera,
we do a bit of Beyonce, all kinds of different
things we're doing. And as you'll hear from from William,
he's also involved in another community choir here in Perth,
and he'll be giving you some more information about that
as the interview unfolds.
S1 (01:44):
Yeah, I found it a really fun to be with William.
He's only 26 years old. I say only because I'm much,
much older than that. And I loved his enthusiasm and
his passion. And as I mentioned, we are still in
the month of July, which is disability pride. And he
does really demonstrate that pride that you get with somebody
(02:08):
that loves what they do and has pride in with
themselves and being part of the choir and being part
of his community. And it was a really great thing. Andrew,
how long have you been in the choir?
S2 (02:22):
Well, um, only I say only. Yeah, about 12 months. Um,
joined winter of last year, and it's been a great
experience to to join the choir again, as you'll hear
from from William, it's like we're one big family and
it's just joyous for getting together. And it doesn't matter.
(02:42):
You know, on the particular day that you head off
for your weekly rehearsal, you can feel, you know, a
bit plain. Um, but once you get in there and
you exercise your lungs and you start to sing, and
especially with 40 or 50 other people week after week, um,
it's just a fantastic experience. And you just come out
at the end of it energised and it's great knowledge
(03:05):
knowing that you're putting together something as, as a group.
So everybody's contribution results in something that is sort of
much bigger than the individual parts, if that makes sense.
S1 (03:15):
It does. And I look forward to seeing the choir
at some point next time they do a public performance.
S2 (03:21):
Yeah, we've actually got some performances coming up at the
end of the year, so that'll be in early December.
You'll be hearing about that later on. But the performances
take place in UWA at the Dolphin Theatre. And uh,
it's an excellent opportunity to see a choir that comes
together and produces such fantastic music. Under the music direction
(03:44):
of the fantastic Morrell Hopwood and our brilliant accompanist, Sammy McSweeney.
It's just it's a joy to watch those two together,
just bringing it all together and bringing the best out
of everybody who's coming together just for the joy of singing.
S1 (03:57):
That's lovely and that's fantastic. Now we'll get into the
interview very shortly, but one thing I wanted to add,
which didn't come out in the interview, which was spoken
about off air, was that our guest, William Morgan, got
the confidence to go into the pride choir because he
started the community choir within the disability sector. And that's
(04:20):
a common thread amongst people that I know and am
involved with that go off and do something in a
smaller scale in a in a local community environment, and
then you can feel the confidence and have the ability
to go off and do something as bigger and better,
like in this case, the pride choir. And we look
forward to hearing what William has to contribute for us now.
(04:46):
This week our guest is William Morgan, and we're still
in the month of July, and July is Disability Pride Month.
And interestingly enough, William is part of the Pride Choir,
so I thought it'd be great to bring him into
the studio today and have a chat to him about
all that and a lot, much more. And I'd like
to welcome William to the studio now. Hello, William.
S3 (05:08):
Hey, Simon. How are you doing?
S1 (05:09):
I'm doing really well. So firstly, I'll get you to
introduce yourself a little bit and just tell us a
little bit about yourself. You know, your background, who you are,
how you got involved with singing and. And what's the
nature of your disability as well. Because talking about disability pride.
S3 (05:25):
Um, well, disability Pride Month is a beautiful thing. And
I think it's great that we're we've got these focuses, um,
on these programs. My name is Will. Yeah. I have
done lots of different things in my life. Um, study
wise and almost professionally wise, a couple of professionally wise things.
I've got a condition called SMA. It's a genetic condition
(05:49):
that affects one in.
S1 (05:51):
What do those letters stand for?
S3 (05:52):
Spinal muscular atrophy. Mhm. It's. Yeah, it's quite a rare one.
Um none of my siblings had it.
S1 (06:00):
Would that be kind of similar to muscular dystrophy and
other similar kinds of things, or. No.
S3 (06:06):
Um, it gets compared. It looks a bit similar. Um,
but in its actual function in the body, I think
it's a bit different. Um, but yeah, it affects, it
affects the muscle growth. Um, so I use a wheelchair
and I have contractures in my joints, things like that. Um,
I've had a surgery on my spine for a spinal
fusion when I was 11. Gosh. Um, so my, I've
(06:31):
got one vertebrae free at the bottom and about three
at the top, and the rest is fused in titanium.
S1 (06:36):
Right now, it gets me to your hobby of singing.
How did you get involved with that?
S3 (06:41):
Well, the voice is the most beautiful thing. It is, um,
I can see that.
S1 (06:47):
When used with love.
S3 (06:49):
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. As it should. I got into singing very,
very young. Um, I started off touring with the Variety
Youth Choir. They are a charity organization that run with variety.
You've probably heard of it. And I took singing lessons
when I was a kid, um, with a private teacher
(07:10):
who taught me a lot. Um, that was really, really fun. Um,
I think that my parents kind of angled me into
singing because it is so, so helpful. Helpful to have
a voice. It's helpful, um, on your lungs, on your diaphragm,
on all of all of those muscles that you need, um,
(07:31):
and for a compromised, um, body, um, with a with
a compressed, um, left lung as well. Um, that was
a a very, um, good idea on their part. Um,
and on top of that, it's a beautiful, fun communal activity.
And it's a, it's a level playing field, you know,
(07:53):
it's a physical thing. Um, and yeah, with enough practice,
you can get halfway decent. I think I'm halfway decent now. Hopefully, um,
three quarters of the way decent in the next five,
ten years. Um, that would be. That would be great. Great. Um, yeah.
There's a million reasons to sing.
S1 (08:13):
So I believe that you're part of the pride choir.
Is that right?
S3 (08:17):
Yeah. I joined Pride Choir early last year and fell
in love with it and all its people and, um,
the the the conductor and the accompanist and, um. Yeah,
some really close friends in the choir as well. Um,
I've met my partner in the choir as well.
S1 (08:36):
Lovely.
S3 (08:36):
Um, in the bass section. Um, yeah. And I've met
some really, really close friends in there as well.
S1 (08:43):
And what have been some of the highlights, apart from
just the joy of singing in a choir, which we
know is a beautiful thing in itself. And listening to
a choir is a wonderful experience. But what has been
some of the highlights of being part of that choir
been for you?
S3 (08:59):
There's heaps. Oh my gosh. There's a million things.
S1 (09:01):
Tell me. Two.
S3 (09:02):
Two. Yeah. Um. I love performing. Performing is a great,
great joy. And we have done quite a few performances around, um,
the city. Um, over the year. And then at the
end of the year, we have a big concert we
had at UWA. Last year we did, um, about 14
(09:23):
songs over an hour. I did a duet with a
very good friend of mine. We did Forget Me not
by the Civil Wars. It's a very beautiful love song. Um.
Very country. Um, and that was very, very special. I
got a lot of great feedback from that.
S1 (09:41):
So the duet is like a lead.
S3 (09:43):
Yeah. Yeah. So we got the the piano drum and
the bass to, um, learn a song. And then it
was the two of us harmonizing with each other. That
was very, very special.
S1 (09:54):
Wow.
S3 (09:55):
We got some great feedback. There was, one man particularly
I remember very, very well who approached us afterwards. He
was in tears, and he was telling us how much
it meant to him. And and he seemed really affected.
And I'll never forget that. He he really, um, it
(10:16):
was a joy to sing that in the moment. And
then to be able to connect with someone was just unreal.
S1 (10:23):
It is beautiful experience. So in its totality, how many
people are in the choir?
S3 (10:30):
God, I think we're when everyone's there, I think we're
about 60, 70 people. Wow. Now? Um, yeah. Pretty much.
We get a big room, maybe 55, 50 people every
rehearsal on a Thursday night. It's pretty amazing.
S1 (10:44):
Okay. And just for those who are interested, where do
you do the rehearsals and how would someone get involved
with the choir?
S3 (10:50):
Totally, totally. Well, we rehearse at Royal Park Hall every
Thursday night at 6:45 p.m. till about 915.
S1 (10:59):
What suburb is that located?
S3 (11:01):
That's central. It's in the city. It's on the edge of, um. Leederville.
S1 (11:05):
Okay.
S3 (11:06):
Yeah, it's a really nice spot. Um. Good acoustics. Um,
and you can find us on, on the internet. If
you type in Perth Pride Choir. There's lots of information
on the website. It's a zero audition choir. So you
can sound like a dying cat, and that's fine. Don't
worry about it. Oh, good. We'll whip you into shape. Um,
(11:27):
I've never met a dying cat in that choir, but, um,
I've met people that have sounded significantly better after even
a few rehearsals with the. With the really brilliant training
of our conductor.
S1 (11:40):
Great. Now, you mentioned you're only 26 years old.
S3 (11:43):
That's right.
S1 (11:44):
And you also mentioned that you've dabbled in a couple
of different professions or hobbies or activities. Tell us a
couple of those that you've tried your hand at.
S3 (11:53):
Totally. Well, most of them have been almost, um, professions
and almost, um, hobbies. Um, I went to three different
universities to study four different courses, five different times. Wow.
So that's been a lot of fun.
S1 (12:08):
And I've had a history like that.
S3 (12:10):
Yeah. Yeah. It's great. Um, bit of bit of, um,
not dread per se, but, um. Wow, I hate this. Um,
studying is not for me. Um, but I studied economics.
I studied financial math. I studied just straight math as
well for a while. Um, at UWA for.
S1 (12:30):
So you've got an interesting maths.
S3 (12:32):
Yeah. Yeah, I love math. I watch recreational YouTube maths
just when I'm eating my lunch, you know, solve this equation.
It's really it's it's it's silly, but I like it. Um,
it's a nice little way to, um, half switch off,
but half be kind of, um, following. And there's all
(12:52):
these fun techniques that you learned. And anyway, gosh, I'm
not going to rabbit on about that any longer.
S1 (12:57):
Um, because you'll lose me. So how did you get
interested in maths in the first place?
S3 (13:02):
Um, school. I guess it was just one of the
easy ones. Um.
S1 (13:06):
Oh, God. It's not what most people say.
S3 (13:08):
Um, I mean, yeah.
S1 (13:10):
Easy for.
S3 (13:10):
You. Easy for me, I guess. Also, my parents got
me a bit angled into that as well. Um, you know,
we'd be in the car ride and mum would try my,
my three times tables, my four times tables growing up.
And I would like to impress her and and do
well and, and it's, it's, it's a, a big big.
(13:31):
Well math is a big big well and very deep
and very um, wide as well. And the difficulty of
that makes it really fun, you know, and when you
muck it up and muck it up and muck it
up and then get it finally, that's a that's a
great feeling. And I model a lot of my life
around that concept. You know, the tougher something is, um,
(13:53):
the more the more rewarding it is when it becomes
second nature.
S1 (13:58):
Now, I know, um, a lot of people that have
a disability or an illness or an impairment, they have
to look at that. Talking about the toughest something is
the more they find it a challenge and they more
they get involved with it or into it. Tell me,
what are some of the other aspects of living with
s that you, you find can be? Do you ever
(14:19):
find it rewarding. For instance.
S3 (14:22):
Mhm mhm mhm. Definitely. Well uh reward is almost inherently
linked to um challenge I think for sure. Um there are,
there are a lot of challenges in it. There's a
lot of challenges with um managing people is probably the,
the biggest one. Um, because I manage, um, all my staff, um,
(14:44):
I don't do like rostering and things like that. But um,
in terms of.
S1 (14:48):
So that's in regards to the NDIS.
S3 (14:50):
Yeah that's right, but I have people for that. But
you know I have to manage them. I have to, um,
teach them their job. I have to, um. Explain it
in a way that is correct and authentic to me
and what I need. Yep. Um, and, you know, um,
hiring people, letting people go is a big one. Um,
(15:12):
quite challenging at times, for sure.
S1 (15:14):
I'll just interrupt there, because one of the reasons I
brought that up, because a common thread is that a
lot of people who have a disability also don't have
a job. And finding employment, especially employment that they want,
is quite difficult for people living with a disability. And
what we try to tell people is that often people
(15:39):
have great problem solving skills and management skills, because that's
what they have to do to manage their life every day.
Would you agree with that, William?
S3 (15:50):
Yeah, absolutely. Depending on their condition as well, or their
circumstance or their upbringing or the resources available to them. Um,
I've seen some, some very difficult, um, situations where people
aren't able to, to speak for themselves or, or advocate
or get what they want. And that's a tricky one.
(16:11):
And we need we need to navigate that a lot better. Definitely.
S1 (16:15):
Yeah. I also believe that you're involved with one of
the service providers called Humdrum Down, based down in Fremantle.
Is that right?
S3 (16:23):
Yeah, absolutely I do. Um, another choir there, actually. Um,
that's my second, second choir. Um, I'm poly choirs, um,
which is, which is a lot of fun for me
and them, I think. Um, yeah, it's called Humdrum Choir.
It's every Monday at 530 to 7, and I do
(16:44):
a little bit of, um, facilitating in that choir a
bit of conducting, um, teaching some songs, um, which is very,
very rewarding. And I, I, um, steal a lot of
ideas from the choir and what Morrell teaches us, um,
because she's got a lot of tools in her tool kit,
(17:05):
which I, I sample and I use, um, and yeah,
having having that other choir there and being able to
teach is one of the best things I do.
S1 (17:16):
Excellent.
S3 (17:16):
Um, it's an absolute joy. I, I relish it a lot.
S1 (17:20):
Tell me about the people that are involved with that
choir at humdrum.
S3 (17:23):
Yeah. So you get all different kinds. Um, it's a
mix of, um, you know, background, um, of of of
all kinds. It's a mixture of abilities. It's a mixture of, um,
musical experience. And it's a lot of fun, you know,
it's not the most professional choir in the world. We
(17:48):
don't we don't tour with, you know, to sing for
the King. But we have a lot of fun. And, um,
we sing together and we harmonize. And it's a low pressure,
just fun, easy environment.
S1 (18:00):
Community based.
S3 (18:01):
Yeah. And that's also a no auditions choir. Um, so
if you live around here and you want to have
a thing come down, check us out. It's it's a
lot of fun.
S1 (18:09):
And where's that based, then?
S3 (18:10):
Uh, that's on one, two, three South Street in Beaconsfield.
That's our humdrum offices.
S2 (18:17):
You're listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia Radio
with Simon Chong and me, Andrew Williams. Today we're joined
in the studio by William Morgan, who is passionate about
singing and sound production.
S1 (18:32):
I believe that you also have an interest in sound
and sound producing, and you want to have your own
sound business, is that right?
S3 (18:40):
Totally. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's kind of an extension from
the singing I have recently. Well, I say recently, it's
been the last couple of years now, been developing a
bit of, um, skills with like producing music, for example. Um,
I have a tutor who teaches me how to edit
(19:01):
audio and, and, um, EQ cueing and and delays and
all all that jazz. Um, I'm still pretty new at
that side. Um, I'm also getting taught how to facilitate
live sound. Yep. So we had a fundraiser for another
organisation I'm with called Activate Tree Planting. Um, they are fantastic.
(19:25):
We've just recently planted 20,000 trees in Lower Chittering, and
a few weeks before that we held a karaoke fundraiser
with my audio setup. So my speakers and my mixer,
my microphones, all that jazz and my projectors and it
was a lot of fun. That was probably the biggest
(19:46):
event I've held.
S1 (19:47):
So you were the host of the karaoke event?
S3 (19:50):
Yeah, yeah. I really love my audio. And being able
to to to create an event like that, um, out
of thin air is beautiful. It is absolutely beautiful.
S1 (20:02):
It's often something that a lot of people are looking
for when they're hosting an event, someone to help set
up the PA, the microphone and the speakers and so on.
So they don't have to organize it because they say,
all right, we'll have an event and there'll be speeches
and so on. And so the facility doesn't have its
own PA, and people like yourself can come in and,
(20:22):
and host it for them.
S3 (20:23):
Totally. Yeah. That's my goal. Um, I want to I
want to learn as much as I can about it
and get really good, um, and and start a business
if possible. The business side of things isn't my main focus. I'm.
I'm more just focused on creating, um, beautiful events right
now and, and, um, but honestly, the way I'm going,
(20:43):
it just seems like that's, that's going to be, um,
a step on the path because, um, it just keeps evolving. Yeah,
I absolutely adore it. And it's such a deep, deep skill. Yeah.
Like singing, um, and like conducting as well, which I
love doing. Um, all these different areas of music and
(21:06):
sound have, have this depth and this breadth and this
adjacency to each other, which I find so compelling.
S1 (21:13):
You are going to be doing a fundraiser for the
Pride Choir, uh, in September sometime. Is that right?
S3 (21:19):
That's right. We're looking at doing another fundraiser early September.
We haven't completely locked in a venue yet. It's in
the early stages. Um, but we are, um, raising money
for our first of all next year. It's called Out
and Loud. It's a really beautiful festival where we invite
pride choirs from all around Australia and a few from
(21:41):
different parts of the world as well. Um, all choirs,
all pride. And we get together about 300 people for
a really big choir. Uh, and we do some performances, um,
throughout the city. It's going to be phenomenal. Um, it's
only every few years they host it, and this, um,
this time it's Perth. It's going to be fantastic. I'm
(22:04):
so excited for it. Um, and yeah, obviously we need
a bit a bit of money to raise for that.
And so we've decided on another karaoke party, um, a
bit more of a dance focus as well. I think
we've talked about a dance floor.
S1 (22:17):
So given all that you've said, I find it really
fun and interesting to talk with you. William, what would
you say to someone that has a physical disability that
has never thought about singing in any shape or form,
especially in a choir? What would you say to help
them get involved with something like singing? Not necessarily in
a choir, but in something like what you're doing.
S3 (22:37):
Mhm. Mhm mhm.
S1 (22:38):
Because some people think oh I've got a physical disability
maybe I can't do that.
S3 (22:42):
Definitely. I think there's a million reasons to think I
can't do that.
S1 (22:48):
Mhm.
S3 (22:49):
And they are all bogus. Yeah. I don't believe in
that at all. It makes sense why you would think that.
And the thought I can't do that comes into mind
every now and then with different activities for sure. But
really if you can talk you can sing. Yep. And
(23:11):
you can really only get better as well.
S1 (23:17):
Yeah.
S3 (23:18):
And in a choir setting especially, you've got everyone else
there as backup. You're you're no longer yourself in a choir.
You actually become everyone. There's this really beautiful moment Where
we were going through our choreography, um, through one of
(23:40):
our songs. It was a click, and I can't click
my fingers. You know, I don't I don't have the
strength for that. Um, so I usually just look like
I'm clicking and everyone else is clicking for me, and, um,
I never really thought about it in those words until
one day someone else spoke up and said, oh, what
if you know, what if we can't click? And I
think this person actually could click, but I think they
were thinking of either me or I don't know anyone
(24:02):
else who couldn't click. And they said, oh, shouldn't we
do something else that's not clicking? And our conductor thought
about it for a second and said, let everyone else
click for you. And it was kind of a innocuous remark,
but really, that's what's happening. You know, I don't do that,
(24:25):
but I do the action and I, I give it
my intention and everyone else picks up my slack. Okay.
And that happens with voice too. You know, you might
think also, I can't even hit all the notes. I
pretend to hit all the notes and I, you know,
when it gets really high and I know it's I
lose it. But I let everyone sing for me. And
(24:46):
in a choir, you're there with everyone. And it is
the most amazing feeling just to nail one song, one line,
one note. Sometimes we just linger on one good note
and there's all these harmonies and it's beautiful. I just
(25:06):
melt away.
S1 (25:07):
Unfortunately, time's run out for us now. William, is there
anything you'd like to end the conversation with before we
have to say goodbye?
S3 (25:14):
Yeah, I suppose going back to your question before, you know,
like I said, there are there are a million reasons
to doubt. And there's there's always going to be some
reason you shouldn't do something. But at the end of
the day, you can only get better at what you do.
You're not really going to get worse. Yeah. And if
(25:36):
you have some voice telling you to go do something,
something new or get better at something, that voice is
in you for a reason. Yeah. And I would encourage
everyone listening to pay attention to that voice and be
gentle with it and be gentle with yourself.
S1 (25:56):
Yeah. I echo that remark entirely. It's great to see
your positive energy there, William. Really have enjoyed you sharing
that with us today in the studio at Vision Australia Radio.
So thanks for being with us, Will. It's been a
really fun and enlightening conversation, and I hope you get
good response from all the choirs that you're involved with.
(26:19):
And I hope that your business picks up providing the
PA support for people and providing karaoke parties for people.
S3 (26:27):
Oh heck yeah. Absolutely. It's a great time.
S1 (26:30):
I look forward to partaking in one of your karaoke
parties sometime real soon. So thanks again for joining us
on In Plain Sight and Vision Australia Radio, and hope
to speak to you again sometime.
S3 (26:40):
Thank you so much, Simon, for you too.
S1 (26:42):
And that's all we've got for today, folks. Thanks for
joining us. Speak to you soon.
S2 (26:57):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us
at the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio,
VA radio digital and online at Radio.com. You can also
listen on demand by searching for In Plain Sight by
Vision Australia Radio. Wherever you get your podcasts, or ask
your smart device to play in Plain Sight by Vision
(27:19):
Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
S1 (27:21):
Thank you.
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