Astrid Jorgensen

Astrid Jorgensen is an Australian vocalist, conductor and composer. She is the founder and director of Pub Choir.

Early life

Jorgensen was born in Hamilton, New Zealand, and emigrated to Brisbane, Australia, in 1998. She attended Lourdes Hill College in Brisbane, graduating in 2006 as college captain.[1]

She studied a Bachelor of Arts (Music) and a Graduate Diploma of Education at the University of Queensland,[2] and a Master of Music Studies (Vocal Performance) at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music.[3] While at the University of Queensland, Jorgensen trained in the Kodály method.[4]

Career

In 2011 Jorgensen formed the band Astrid & the Asteroids.[5] The group was awarded the Billy Thorpe Scholarship at the 2012 Queensland Music Awards,[6] and later disbanded in 2014.[5]

In 2017 Jorgensen founded Pub Choir in West End, Brisbane, with friend Megan Bartholomew.[7] At each Pub Choir event, Jorgensen arranges a popular song and teaches it to a non-trained audience in three-part harmony, concluding with a performance which is filmed and shared on social media.[7] Pub Choir gained international attention in November 2017 when their rendition of Zombie by The Cranberries went viral on the internet.[8]

In 2018 Jorgensen was the resident choral arranger and conductor for Neil Finn’s Out of Silence show at HOTA.[9] She arranged the songs Sisters and Ready or Not on the Spinifex Gum album Sisters with Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill from The Cat Empire. She was a featured guest in Tim Rogers' Liquid Nights in Bohemia Heights shows in 2019.[10]

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of planned Pub Choir events, Jorgensen launched "Couch Choir".[11][12] She arranged and uploaded three vocal harmonies of the song (They Long To Be) Close To You by The Carpenters to social media, inviting anybody to learn a part, film themselves singing it, and send it back for inclusion in a final video.[12] There were over 1000 submissions from 18 different countries, and the project was featured on Australian Story.[13] The final video was also shared by Richard Carpenter.[14]

Jorgensen has also worked as a producer for ABC Radio Brisbane,[3] and has performed as a keyboardist in Australian indie rock band The Grates.

Recognition

She was awarded the 2019 Queensland Community Foundation Emerging Philanthropist of the Year as a result of her charitable work with Pub Choir.[15] Jorgensen was also a 2020 Young Australian of The Year nominee.[16]

References
  1. writers, Staff (2006-12-30). "Mission to help out in Zambia". The Catholic Leader. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  2. Usasz, Greta. "Pub Choir goes digital to keep community in harmony". stories.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  3. Crossen, Louise. "Griffith alumnus goes global with Pub Choir". news.griffith.edu.au. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  4. Usasz, Greta. "Pub Choir goes digital to keep community in harmony". stories.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 2021-01-09.
  5. "TBT: The Astronomical Astrid & The Asteroids". Music Is My Muse. 2015-08-05. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  6. "Billy Thorpe Scholarship". QMusic. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  7. McMillen, Andrew (23 March 2018). "Pub Choir: Brisbane grassroots event where everyone's urged to sing". The Australian.
  8. McMillen, Andrew (24 March 2018). "Brisbane's Pub Choir Movement Marks First Year". The Australian.
  9. "A rowdy sing-a-long has never sounded so good". HOTA. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  10. Moyle, Tracey (2019-08-10). "REVIEW: Tim Rogers – Liquid Nights in Bohemia Heights, Brisbane Powerhouse, 09/08/2019". Good Call Live. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  11. Leigh, Andrew (2020). Reconnected: A community builder's handbook. Australia: La Trobe University Press. pp. 133–134. ISBN 9781760642617.
  12. Hinchliffe, Jessica (2020-03-23). "1,000 singers, 18 countries: Pub Choir's Couch Choir brings light during coronavirus crisis". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  13. One Day at a Time, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2020-03-27, retrieved 2020-04-08
  14. "Login | Chronicle". www.thechronicle.com.au. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  15. Downes, Kirsten. "QCF 2019 Philanthropist of the Year Awards". QCF. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
  16. "Australian of the Year Awards". www.australianoftheyear.org.au. Retrieved 2019-12-01.
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