Introduction

This is the Crescendo Music Education Podcast – Episode 93. In this episode, I’m going to speak to Sandra Milliken again, if you would like to go back and listen to Episode 92 that will give you quite a bit of background. In this episode, Sandra is going to talk about when she began to compose and her compositional style, very interesting to listen to. And she will talk about the Queensland Kodály Choir Legacy Project, you are going to want to hear about this. If you use singing in your music classroom, or you are a choral conductor, you need to know about the Queensland Kodály Choir Legacy Project. She tells you all about that, this episode is worth listening to my friends.

This podcast is being recorded on the lands of the Turrbal people. I acknowledge them as the traditional owners of the land and pay my respects to elder’s past, present and emerging. They were the first music makers on this land.

About ‘Read the Episode’: Sometimes, we would rather skim visually than listen to a podcast! That’s a great way to learn too!
The transcript of episode 093 of The Crescendo Music Education Podcast is below.

The Beginning Of Her Composition Journey

Debbie
Hello.

Sandra Milliken
Hi.

Debbie
It’s great to have you back. And if you did not listen to the previous episode, go back and listen to that as well. Sandra had many interesting and inspirational things to say. But in this episode, I want to focus on your compositions. So Sandra as a composer, so tell us when did you start to compose?

Sandra Milliken
Well I guess my composition started when I was in school, high school, obviously I had to do assignments. So I didn’t mind doing those little compositional things. But actually, on the side when ABBA came out, I got inspired to be a bit of an ABBA kind of thing. I used to play the guitar so I composed a couple of ABBA-esque styles, which I still have. They were just hand and the words. They were words, I can still remember the melodies because I didn’t notate the melody. I just wrote words and chords and had three part harmony in the chorus.

Debbie
Wow.

Lack of Women Mentors

Sandra Milliken
I can still hear it. Yes. So that’s when I first started composing but I guess I didn’t have many, much in the way of mentors. Women composers were just not a thing when I was younger. It was not a career path for anyone really. Women composers were few and far between and I lived in Cairns, I don’t think I knew any women composers, except for a lady called Terri Jones, who lived in Innisfail. And she actually wrote some fantastic works, instrumental works, she did a ballet called The Enchanted Garden. Anyway, she was the only one that I knew.

I did all my theory, my AMEB theory exams and did grade six. So I’ve always had an avid interest in harmonies, and love playing lots of pop music. So I know a lot about chords, those sorts of things. How melodies fit the harmonies, yeah, so I really didn’t do anything much until I think maybe it was just all building up and I was collecting information in my mind. And then just before I went on the Churchill fellowship in about 1999, I started writing a small mass. A Missa Piccola, well actually it wasn’t a Missa Piccola? No, maybe it was just a Missa, I started mucking around with a mass.

I’m good friends with Piroska Varga who also did a lot of work in the Kodály area and she’d introduced us to some of her Hungarian composers in some of the summer schools for the choral music and I was really inspired by that. So I started writing this mass and I sent it to her that the little draft and she said, “Oh, keep working on it”.

Composition Inspiration From Travels

Sandra Milliken
Anyway, I then went on the Churchill fellowship. I visited 56 choirs during my three month tour overseas, a lot of them in Finland, Estonia, Sweden, England, United States and Canada. I was very inspired by new ideas and thinking outside the box. And I heard some really fantastic music and some far out music too. All of a sudden I got all this inspiration.

I was on a flight, on an Alaskan Airlines flight from Seattle back to Vancouver. When are when they bring their inflight meal to you. They give you a little piece of paper with a Bible verse on it. They don’t do it anymore. I know, How random was that? I looked at the Bible verse and I went ding! We were soaring above the clouds, I was not sitting with my husband and of course, I didn’t have a pen in my hand. I yelled out to my husband, you got a pen? He passes his pen over. I start writing on a serviette.

Debbie
Oh no, that’s so classic. Penned on a serviette.

Sandra Milliken
Yep. Penned on a serviette. So I composed one of my first works that was published on a serviette.

Americans would say a napkin, wouldn’t they?

A napkin? Yeah.

Debbie
Yes.

Sandra Milliken
So that’s how I started.

Debbie
The bible verse and the composition. Did you set it to music? Or did it inspire you to write?

Sandra Milliken
It inspired me to write, I composed that verse.

Debbie
Okay.

Sandra Milliken
Yeah. And it was written acapella for, not Elektra it was a women’s choir, Peninsula Women’s Chorus. And I wrote it in five or six parts, it was a long time ago, and they did record it as well. So I gave it to them. So I will lift my eyes. I can’t remember it. It’s just off the top of my head. But that’s actually what started the flow. And after that, I just started composing crazily in that year after I came back and then it just kept happening.

Debbie
Oh my goodness, you let the cork out?

Sandra Milliken
It did. Yes. It was like I was unplugged. Yes. All of a sudden, everything I had, all my experiences, all my musicianship, everything all sort of just came to that point. And that’s where I started composing.

Conducting In Cairns

Debbie
How amazing. Hearing Peninsula regions. It’s taking me back to my time in Cairns. Yes. And I conducted the Peninsula Region Junior Choir. All of the kids came and we did a little tour up Hope Vale and that beautiful part of the world, isn’t it? So you grew up in Cairns?

Sandra Milliken
I did. Yes.

Debbie
When did you move to Brisbane?

Sandra Milliken
In 1994 it was. So I’ve been here 30 years. Is that right? 30 years? Yes.

Debbie
Oh no, don’t ask me to do maths.

Sandra Milliken
Yes, so I have a lot of black background in Cairns because Cairns is a very musical city. There’s the Cairn Choral Society. So I did some directing with them. I was accompanist for them as well. That’s where I started my first conducting, I wasn’t a trained conductor at that point. But I still managed to do okay at the eisteddfods for some of the little Glees that I conducted. So yeah.

Debbie
Oh how fabulous! Well hello to all those people in Cairns, I was just up there in September. Hello to those people that went to that workshop. Fabulous, fabulous place and some wonderful educators and musicians of course, up there. Okay. So can you tell us some main influences on your compositional style? Do you feel you have, I’m sure you’re talking eclectic, you’re talking inspiration from all sorts of things. So you probably don’t have one style. But what are the main influences on your styles?

Composition Style, Influences and Pedagogy

Sandra Milliken
Well, I guess as I mentioned, I’ve had exposure to a lot of pop music, but also classical because the difference between pop music and classical is that classical, you can often change the harmony on every beat, right? Like a Bach chorales. Pop music, you have a chord, mostly for the whole bar or bars, so that’s the main difference. But you know, I think a lot of people kind of mesh these things together. It’s all integrated these days.

Well, of course, I write mainly choral music and vocal music. So it’s the words that influence the style for me to write in. See because I read the words, as I don’t particularly follow one style or have developed my own style. I tend to compose to the words. Now my style always focuses on harmony, because I think as singers, we need to be able to hold on to something. If we don’t have instruments that are accompanying us, I think harmonies or the melody. We always think vertically for harmony, horizontally for the melody. So there’s always got to be some point where we’re keeping the pitch and I don’t work with professional singers.

I write music for the community choirs or very good community choirs because I have written some very challenging pieces as well. But I think you know, I’ve the melody and I like people to be able to sing something again. I don’t like to write something that’s just so a tonal. And yeah, it’s all very intellectual, but does it get performed again? Those are the things that kind of write my I know, I had an interview to do a composers course to study composing. And I was told to forget everything that was in my heart.

Debbie
Oh, I’m not doing that course.

Sandra Milliken
Only my brain.

Debbie
No, no, no, no, no.

Sandra Milliken
I can’t do that.

Debbie
That’s ridiculous.

Sandra Milliken
Because I know some new age composers, they develop their own tonal systems, they develop their own rhythmic system, and I didn’t want to get into that.

Debbie
There’s got to be something, if you’re writing for real people, you need to connect with them and their experience and their heart. There is absolutely no point if you don’t do that. I know that’s my personal opinion. But look I’m not interested in having, like you said, the intellectual cleverness of a piece and go, Well, thank you for that. And it’s it’s not impacted me in any way other than, perhaps my brain but even then my brain doesn’t need that. Thank you very much. So no, I’m pleased you write for real people, and connecting with the heart is just vital.

Sandra Milliken
So I didn’t end up going and studying composition.

Debbie
That same course.

The Differences Between Composing for Choirs and Instrumental Groups

Sandra Milliken
That was for the Sibelius Academy, believe it or not, yeah, so the particular composer that I had an interview with, because they were looking for new. I’ve even been criticised by Australian composers that I’m not new or new enough for, but there are so many of us that are writing for choirs, it’s different if it’s instrumental. I think for instrumental you can be a bit more new, but for choirs, I think it’s really important that there is a sense of harmony, and it doesn’t have to be just a block, do me so chord. It can be something that’s interesting. But you know, and it can alternate between parts that aren’t so sonorous.

Debbie
Predictable.

Sandra Milliken
Yeah. Well, yeah, that’s right predictable. Anyway, so I didn’t study composing, but I have written a lot of pieces, a lot of original works. And I remember Larry Sitsky said to me, he heard a premiere of one of mine in Sydney with a Finnish choir that came on a tour here. I wrote Judith Writes The Old Prison, and it was a multi divisi piece. And Larry Sitsky, also had a premiere that night at this concert, and he and I got to meet. He said to me, you should be writing instrumental music. And I said, but I don’t have a pedigree. I don’t have a composing pedigree, he said, But you with this choir and all those pieces, all those parts you could write instruments, that’s what I remember, he told me.

Debbie
Oh wow. You’re not interested in that? Have you ever been tempted to do instrumental?

Sandra Milliken
Uh, well, I actually had a commission last year that I wrote my first string quartet, for the Sydney Boys Grammar School. They have a very talented group of boys who are going to premiere that in Music Aviva competition this year for string quartet. So that was called The Chasm. So yeah, I love doing it, it was very interesting. You don’t have to worry about the words. That’s the thing. I don’t worry about the ranges of the voices. And I don’t have to worry about which vowel is going to be sung on this high note. Do you know what I mean? So it’s a totally different thing.

Anyway, it was a really experience, so yes, I should really get into that a bit more. But I teach singing, I conduct choirs. I’m so interested in the voice and vocal technique and writing things that are suitable for young people with developing voices. So, yeah, it’s a whole pedagogical thing for me as well.

Sandra’s Song Writing Process Using Poems and Language

Debbie
Yes and that’s really important. And that adds to the quality of what you do. So yes, so it’s alright to stay. We need you to stay doing what you’re doing. It’s good to pop out a bit write for strings, but come back to us. So your composition process generally text first? Well your little Bible verse it was. Text first or melody first, or comes together or is there a way that happens mainly,

Sandra Milliken
Okay, it’s normally text first, because I will read poems. And look for things if I want to write about something. I think, Oh, I’d like to write something about the sea. So I look at poems. And then I have to get permission to use the poems of course, if they’re copyright. So my publisher handles those sorts of things. But sometimes I get an idea, like, Tango in Five that I wrote, it’s got five parts. But it’s actually, Tango is a dance in four four and it has one bar that’s got a five four in it. I wrote it with onomatopoeic symbols. So as you know, I I made up the language that was in that one. So they were my words. The reason I wrote that one is because I had broken ribs, and I fell over in Finland.

Debbie
Hopefully not doing a tango, I hope.

Sandra Milliken
No, but I did go tangoing with a friend of mine. She’s a terrible influence. Oh, we went tangoing and I’m like, Oh my goodness. Anyway. So that’s why I wrote that Tango. So it’s four four for four bars. And then it has an extra bar, bar five. And it’s written in five four. Anyway, it’s a bit of a fun piece. So usually, yes, I do have words first.

Other times, I might start a melody with a chord and I might have a chord progression, simple chord progression that I have in my mind, I might even play sort of (plays piano) and then (plays piano), come up with some sort of thing like that and go, Okay, can I put a melody to that? And then I’m like, Oh, what about some words? So sometimes I write the words as I go along.

Sources of Inspiration for Lyrics

Another way is I say to my husband, because he actually write some lyrics for me, and I’ll say, I want to do something Spanish. And he actually came up with the words for At the Milonga and the Milonga is a dance party where you learn to Salsa, and you go, you have your lesson, and then you dance for the rest of the night with partners. Yeah. So he actually wrote the lyrics for that one. And it’s been quite a successful piece At the Milonga. So yes. Sometimes he’ll write lyrics for me as well.

I have a couple of friends who write poems I’ve used their lyrics before. I have a friend in Sydney, who writes some funny lyrics. I’ve got Flamenco Flamingos, which is great fun piece which I’ve done with a secondary school choir, it’s SSA Treble Voices. It’s a bit of a fun one. Yeah. I’ve also written a piece called Sudoku, which I wrote the words for it. Sudoku, of course. The game, the nine numbers.

I was on a choir tour, and one of my choristers was doing it. She’s 18 or 19 years old. I said, What’s that? And so she explained how to do it. Well, I was hooked. I used to do Sudoku all the time. Yeah. So I composed a piece called Sudoku. And it’s a two part and it goes into a three part canon. And it’s got several languages in it counting. So uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco. Un, deux, trois in French, it’s in German, it’s in Japanese as well. Yeah, so there’s a few few languages in there, so it’s got a canon in the middle of it. So that’s a bit of a fun piece as well.

Debbie
Oh that sounds like fun, I want to look that up? Actually. There’s some music Sudoku that I’ve created on Crescendo. So if you’re a member, you can go and instead of the nine numbers, there’s nine symbols, nine music symbols. So it’s exactly the same thing. But yeah, you’re into Sudoku or not aren’t you? But I really, really, really want to look up that piece now of yours.

Sandra Milliken
Yeah, it’s really good. Yeah. It’s like (sings) numbers, numbers everywhere. Eighty one numbers in a square. Numbers, numbers everywhere. It’s like my mind’s going crazy. It’s not fair, you know? 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, 9 in each square, because it has a little rest before the number nine when you’re ready to finish off. Yeah. Anyway, it’s a bit of a cool piece.

Debbie
I love it. I’m look, I’m gonna write that one down. I want to look that one up. Sudoku. I love it. Okay, excellent. All right. Can we talk about the Queensland Kodály Choir Legacy Project. So it’s out now at time of recording, but I will be airing this episode later in 2024. Because I madly record in my holidays, so that I can cope with working full time and still having new podcasts. So by the time this comes out, it will be well and truly live. Can you tell us what it is? And what what’s the purpose and how did you get involved?

A Legacy Project For Queensland Choirs

Sandra Milliken
All right, well this is a special project on behalf of the Queensland Kodály Choir who had been running for many years, they’ve had a few few directors but James Cuskelly figured prominently in with this group. And he said it began as a youth choir and then everybody got older. So it got to the point where James had moved from that area. And they were trying to get other conductors to come in. So they tried a few conductors. And they eventually decided that they were going to fold and disband.

So they had accumulated some money over this time. And I thought, what can we do with this money that can be a legacy for the community and for music, and for the Kodály work that that we’ve been doing and supporting, and they came up with the idea of having some free music written, pay the composers to write it with this money, and have the music available free as downloads. I was invited to be a part of this project. And so was Astrid Jorgensen, most people know her from Pub Choir. But of course, she’s fantastic musician, great Kodály exponent as well and a great classroom music teacher before she went into Pub Choir, which now consumes her life.

Debbie
Yes, Hi Pub Choir, Hi Astrid. You can go back and listen to her on The Crescendo Podcast. The episode number does not come into my head. I’m sorry. I’ll put it in the show notes.

Sandra Milliken
She’s a fabulous musician. Astrid asked to write 20 original pieces. And also Fay White from Victoria, who actually wrote some Leunig. She was given some Leunig words and she wrote some pieces. She’s a more of a folk style performer. And then I was asked to write arrangements of 20 folk songs, because a lot of the folk songs can be used for teaching Kodály with pentatonic scales and other modes. That was really good. So the three of us got to be a part of this project.

So my component then was coming up with James and Judy Johnson, had also put together a list of a few titles, and then my husband and I searched through for some more folk songs that would be suitable. Now, of course, Australian folk songs can be a little gruesome and it’s really hard to find. So yeah, we did a lot of research and of course, some of our colloquial terms are very interesting as well. So I was thinking that we needed the folk songs to be singable by a wide number of clients, as well as school choirs.

Writing Folk Songs

James said, “Oh you know, just keep it simple. And you can just do a piano part with one of them, bud a bar with this and add an instrument on this”. Yeah. Okay. Well, I started off, and I can’t remember which one was the first one. But as I went along, I realised I kept thinking of people like Anthony Young in my head, who’s got boys choirs at St. Lawrence, and I’m thinking of The Queensland Youth Choir and those sorts of other choirs around the place. And I thought, well, I need to write a bit of a variety. I need to write some SATV, I need to write some TV, changing voice I need to be aware of that. I need to write some stuff for primary school. Wow. Okay.

I started off with like, Andy’s Gone with Cattle. So in Andy’s gone with cattle, she’s talking about Andy’s gone away and we don’t know when we’re going to see him again. So it’s more women songs. I wrote it acapella for SSAA. And then I thought, Oh, well hang on. You know, there could be an SSA choir good girls choir, they could sing this as well. So I thought I’ll write an SSA version and I’ll write it with accompaniment. So I did that.

Then I thought oh, well I could actually write a two part version too couldn’t I? Oh, well yeah, I’ll do that so when you’ve actually got the bones have something the foundation it’s easy to rejig it. Take out a part, redistribute the notes again, so you get a nice kind of, yeah. So the two part choir version of got acquired got that here. Andy’s Gone with Cattle so it’s kind of like a little river kinda goes. (plays and sings song)

So you know, it’s mostly in unison, it has a couple of times where it splits. So I tried to think of those things, keeping it simple for a primary school choir to sing, but also making it a bit more challenging for the SSA, SSAA. Well, that happened with a number of those things. Instead of 20 songs. I ended up with 45 arrangements. Well, I mean, I think one of them I wrote four different versions. Oh, no five different versions. The Shores of Botany Bay. Do you know that one? (Sings) Farewell to your bricks and mortar? Yeah, anyway, funny.

So I wrote 1,2,3,4,5 I wrote six versions of that one. But I did do some transpositions as well. Because knowing a little bit about vocal ranges, therefore, you’ve got some extra choices. Yeah, so you can choose it in a couple of different keys with that one. So, yeah, so there’s a few interesting arrangements there. And some of them have a flute part or a violin part in case you have somebody at your school that can play, they’re simple, that can play a part as well.

That’s something I forgot to tell you, everything is available for free because we’ve already been paid to do the job, which is just fantastic. And I’m very proud to have been a part of this project. And and to have this music available. Now, you know, sometimes people perform in a Stanford’s and you have to sing an Australian song. Well, this is perfect.

Different Approaches and Styles of Australian Folk Music

Debbie
And while you’re talking about how three great people, so there we go, we got Fay White, Victoria Sings Short Stuff, this is one of the best books in the world. And. I bought Fay White up for a Crescendo workshop several years back. She is amazing. So like, yeah, free. But one of the things that occurred to me when I got the email about this, and I went free, like everyone who’s listening now, tune in free, all of this repertoire. But the three of you seem quite different.

Sandra Milliken
Oh very, very different.

Debbie
We could say vastly different. vastly different.

Sandra Milliken
Yes.

Debbie
You know, it will add so much colour and delight. You were approached specifically for Australian folk.

Sandra Milliken
Yes.

Debbie
Were they the other two doing this? Did they have the same brief?

Sandra Milliken
They had different briefs because Fay was writing was composing poems by Michael Leunig.

Debbie
Yes, she had the Leunig. You’ve mentioned the Leunig, wow.

Sandra Milliken
Astrid, she had more of a free sort of thing to compose, she’s composed a few canons and some of the words, I think, relate to what’s happening in the community now and making connections and yeah, so they’re very interesting. Yeah.

She has more of a contemporary approach to her writing, as well. And of course, she said, you can add something to it, add harmonies, you know, wherever necessary, because she’s put chords in and those sorts of things. So yeah, so we’re asking teachers to add or subtract from what you want to do? I mean, you could leave out the piano part in a couple of my accompaniments in the song arrangements if you wanted to.

Debbie
So what would we find? Obviously, I will be putting the link in the show notes for all the salivating listeners, right now? But what will they find? What what do you do you can download a PDF of your various versions?

Sandra Milliken
Yeah, so on the Cuskelly website and the Kodály website, they have got the complete books up. So there’s Astrid has a book. Fay has a book, I have two books, part one and part two.

Debbie
There’s so many.

Sandra Milliken
I know. So you can download those as a PDF. Okay. And then you can just print off the pages that you want. There are learning tracks that go with these as well. So my learning tracks are actually specifically for they’ve got the soprano part turned up for you to learn the soprano part. If there are music teachers that can’t play the piano, it’s all there for you to be able to play to help the kids to learn things. So yeah. And it’s got learning tracks for other people. Everybody’s technology these days. And, you know, that’s an easy way to learn things, be prepared for your next rehearsal.

That’s always one of my things. It’s nice if you have done your homework before you go to choir rather than me bashing notes at choir, that is boring. We come together to put it together, so yeah, do your home practice. So rehearsal tracks really work out well. And my husband’s actually just put up all the single PDFs of the single arrangements on my website as well.

So you can go and look at my website and and get the single PDF if you don’t want to print off the whole book. Because in the beginnings of all my separate individual files, there’s actually a glossary because there’s a lot of terms in some of the pieces. What’s a squatter? You know, those sorts of things. Like The Cabbage Tree Hat, that’s a great primary, primary choir song. It’s talking about making your cabbage tree hat, your hat, it might be old, but it does the right thing. So a cabbage tree, of course is a palm tree and they used to weave the hats with this cabbage tree. Yeah. So, you know, there’s a glossary, I also put performance notes to help.

Debbie
So even if someone finds something in one of your volumes of your big fat books, then they could maybe if they’re going to select one or two pieces, it would be worth going to your website to get that extra information on the piece they’re going to perform wouldn’t it?

Sandra Milliken
Yeah. It’s just that it’s actually with the individual piece then. Yeah.

Connecting With Sandra Milliken and Her Work

Debbie
So what we might do, obviously, I’m going to put the link to the Queensland Kodály Legacy Project, but I will also put a link to your website. And is the website, which sort of leads us quite perfectly to how people can connect with you and your work. So website?

Sandra Milliken
Yes, just sandramilliken.com.au?

Debbie
That’s easy.

Sandra Milliken
Yeah, really easy.

Debbie
Okay. And is there any other place that you like to hang out social media wise, or not really, your website’s the main connection?

Sandra Milliken
I have a composer page on Facebook. So I’ll be putting up a few little references to this project now that it’s been launched officially, and probably doing a couple of little presentations on some songs that I might choose from the group, from the actual volume and talk to people about that. Yes. So you can go to my composure page on Facebook.

Debbie
Yes I can put that link in too.

Sandra Milliken
I don’t do a lot on Instagram although people say I should, but you know.

Debbie
I know it’s just the time, it’s the time to do everything, I know.

Sandra Milliken
And then you’ve got to check it.

Debbie
Yep. And really, if you’re on something like Instagram, and I post very regularly, but you need to interact on the platform and the time to get in there and interact. So if we put in the Legacy link, the website link and your Facebook composer page link. And then people can connect and check out all of your repertoire.

Sandra Milliken
That would be great. And on my website, it’s very user friendly, because you can actually just search two part, or treble voices, you can search for voice types in some of my original pieces. You can also, there’s thumb prints, and there’s also some recordings of of the pieces as well. And so yeah, and there’s a background, of course, background to the pieces.

Debbie
That sounds amazing. Look, before we leave, and I’ve got all this stuff I want to chase up now, I’ll email you, Sandra, because I want to have a look at some of these pieces. Okay. And I’ll talk to Kath Ruhle, our beautiful choral conductor too.

Sandra Milliken
And you know, also feel free, any listeners out there, feel free to email me I’m sandra@sandramilliken.com.au. If you need something in a different key, or you need the instrumental part printed out, because I’ve actually made the instrumental parts for a C instrument at the moment. But if you have a good clarinet player and you want it written in B flat, just you know, send me a quick message because it’s easy enough just to print off, transpose it for you rather than somebody having to redo it. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Debbie
That is very generous of you, Sandra. And that’s one of the things I love about the composers that I know. They’re all so generous. Maybe it’s Australian composers, maybe it’s composers right across the world. You just want, you know, even the few little pieces that I’ve written. You just want people to sing them don’t you?

Sandra Milliken
Yes.

Debbie
And if I can help you perform them I will but that’s still very generous of you to do that.

Sandra Milliken
Well, it’s a time saver.

Debbie
For other people, not for you, but for other people, yes. Look, Sandra, I have loved learning more about you. And I’m sure all of our listeners have as well. So thank you so much for joining us.

Sandra Milliken
Thank you very much. I’ve really enjoyed talking to you.

Debbie
Actually, yes, we’re actually in the same city. Let’s have coffee.

Sandra Milliken
Yes, thanks so much, Debbie.

Debbie
Bye.

Sign-Off

I appreciate you and all of my colleagues, and hope this episode has been enjoyable and useful. Don’t forget, you’ll find the show notes on crescendo.com.au. I’d love a share, rate or review to help other music educators find this podcast. All I can be as the best version of me. All you can do is be the best you. Until next time, bye.

Just for Laughs

As we know laughter relieves stress don’t lose sight of the funny side of life.

I’d asked my teddy bear if he was hungry,

but he’s stuffed.

Links Mentioned in the Episode:

✏️ Qld Kodaly Choir Legacy Project (with free downloadable PDF booklets and learning tracks)

💻 My website: https://www.sandramilliken.com.au

🖥️ My website page for Qld Kodaly Choir Legacy Project (with individual free downloadable PDF links to 45 arrangements)

📧 Email: sandra@sandramilliken.com.au 

🎙️ Embracing Average: A Chat with Astrid Jorgensen (Part 1 and Part 2)

Where to find me:

• Crescendo Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crescendocommunity
• Official Crescendo Page: https://www.facebook.com/CrescendoMusicEd/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CrescendoMusicEd
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/crescendomusic
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-o-shea-62a3741b/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CrescendoDebbie/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/crescendodebbie/