Mathy Award Winner

First of all I would like to thank you for inviting me to speak at tonight's dinner. When James asked me to speak about being a singer, the first questions that came to mind were – “how did I get here?”, “what did it take?” and “what does it take to be a singer?"

As I see it there are five types of support needed. I was not one of those children who was a natural genius at everything they did. I was your average child, but I had always been encouraged by my parents to do what makes me grow as a person. They continued that attitude all throughout my youth and I must say, it continues to affect me and the decisions that I make even to this day. I sing because I enjoy it, but I am also developing a career because of the support of so many people.

Yes, I am a good singer, but we all know that it is not enough just to be a good singer. You need fabulous support from teachers, coaches, directors - and even the occasional stylist - to bring a complete package to the stage.

And then there is the support for family. I am a mother and I am also a wife. I see these roles as being the most important in my life. You see, when I am with my son Samuel and my husband Damien, my heart just sings. It gives me reason to sing. Without them, my voice loses its sparkle, and I lose the joy. It saddens me that there seems to be this thought that to be truly successful as a singer you need to stop or delay that side of life - but that is simply not true.

There is the other type of support - experience. Experience is worth its weight in gold. It is, for me, a way to learn my strengths, my current limits and undiscovered ability. Some of these experiences that I have had range from singing in churches to the stage of the Sydney Opera House - each one as valuable as the next. Competitions show us what we are made of. As you know, I was a Finalist in the Mathy Awards last year and my, what an experience that was! And what did I learn? Well, I learnt a very hard lesson in humility. I learned that there is always room for improvement and I learned the joy of dressing up and being the centre of attention (even if it was only for a moment)! But once again, I learned that a competition of that size cannot function without the support of teachers, coaches and sponsors, and that fabulous team at the Australian Singing Competition.

‘Which brings me to my final type of support, but far from the least. As valuable as experience is, you cannot pay the rent with it. This career I have chosen is an expensive one. It is all very well to say to a young singer "go and get a new dress for this" or "go and have a coaching with that person". But when you are starting out - like me - that simply doesn't happen without financial help. By supporting young singers you not only help them to sing but you help them to live. So please, continue to support us, because in a country which seems to be driven by sport, we need all the help we can get. On behalf of the future Mathy Finalists, I thank you for being a wonderful example of encouragement and support for this beautiful gift of life and I wish your organisation my sincere best wishes.

Thank you.