Shire supports Men’s Shed Singers

A GROUP of local singers and musicians have been given a grant to help them find the right pitch during difficult times.

The Men’s Shed Singers is a group made up primarily of Torquay Men’s Shed members. Before COVID-19, they frequently performed at aged care homes and markets.

Richard Walsh plays the accordion in the Men’s Shed Singers and helped the group apply for the grant.

The pandemic has not allowed them to rehearse, let alone perform, but Mr Walsh said the grant from the Surf Coast Shire will help hasten their return.

“We haven’t been able to play since late January.

“I thought ‘maybe we could think of something where we come out of this and we’ve benefited the group and then we can benefit the community’, and we thought up this idea of having headsets with microphones, and then we can sing with our masks on.”

The Men’s Shed Singers received the $3,729 grant as part of the shire’s COVID-19 Recovery Assistance program.

To help the group’s grant application, Mr Walsh contacted some of the places the Men’s Shed Singers had performed at to ask for letters of commendation. He said the members of the Men’s Shed Singers were amazed by the responses they received.

“We didn’t realise how much we were appreciated. They came back with wonderful letters, we couldn’t believe it,” Mr Walsh said.

“We get so much fun out of it ourselves, we thought ‘oh boy, we are doing something in the community.”

Some of the grant money will also go towards filming an outdoor performance from the group, to be distributed to the centres where they regularly perform.

Mr Walsh said the Men’s Shed Singers were well prepared to adapt to the new norm.

“As a group, it’s going to take us a while to train up. Each of the headsets will be allocated a number and a name, and their members will be responsible for sanitising them.

“We’ve developed a COVID-19 risk management plan which we had approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.”