Our Stories by Canberra Choral Society

OUR STORIES is a powerful choral event presented by Canberra Choral Society as part of the UPSTAGEING Canberra festival, placing storytelling at the heart of music-making.
Directed by Dan Walker, Music Director of Canberra Choral Society, Our Stories brings together the CCS choir, soprano Rachel Mink, baritone Alasdair Stretch, and instrumentalists including string quartet and pianoforte. The concert explores lived experience through choral music, drawing voices together across generations to reflect on memory, identity, belonging, and what it means to be heard.

The program traces an emotional and reflective journey. It moves from stillness and contemplation in Deep Peace (Bill Douglas), through memory and familiarity in Fields of Gold (Sting, arranged by Dan Walker), and into works that explore humility, love, and the inner life, including He Never Expected Much (Dan Walker), Luminous Night of the Soul (Ola Gjeilo), and Sure on this Shining Night (Morten Lauridsen).

At its core, Our Stories is shaped by the belief that every person carries a story worth sharing. Some stories are joyful, some complex, some unfinished. Together, they form a rich portrait of community and connection. This idea is reflected in works such as Our First April (Marjorie Halloran), The Circle Game (Joni Mitchell, arranged by Dan Walker), and The Hope of Loving (Jake Runestad).

Rather than nostalgia, Our Stories celebrates creativity as a vital and contemporary act at every stage of life. The concert honours wisdom, resilience, and the ongoing power of making art, emphasising listening, connection, and recognition of ourselves in one another.

As part of the inaugural UPSTAGEING Canberra festival, Australia’s first large-scale Creative Ageing Arts Festival, Our Stories invites audiences to slow down, listen deeply, and find something of their own story reflected in the music.

“I am looking forward to welcoming the Canberra community and friends to this heartwarming, creative event as part of the inaugural UPSTAGEING Canberra festival,” says Director Dan Walker.