23/03/2026
Harmony was plentiful on Sunday as the community celebrated Harmony Week with our very talented Southern Downs choirs.
As MC , Councillor Morwenna Harslett welcomed everyone and began the afternoon with her thoughtful speech below.
Good afternoon everyone, and welcome! My name is Morwenna Harslett and I am, among other things, one of your local Councillors with the absolute privilege of the Inspired Communities portfolio— so I get to mix work and passion in championing the arts, music, culture and, well… basically everything to do with harmony, inclusivity and celebration in our region! It’s such a joy to see so many faces here today—friends, families, neighbours, and maybe a few people who saw the sign and thought, “That sounds like a nice way to spend an afternoon…”— and wandered in. If that’s you, excellent decision.
Today we’re celebrating Harmony Week—a time that’s all about inclusion, respect, and belonging. Big ideas… but they show up in the smallest, most human ways. Like sharing food, learning someone’s name properly, or sitting next to someone you’ve never met before… and perhaps singing the same note. And that’s the magic of this afternoon.
It’s Harmony Week, and you’ll be treated to four vocal acts—each quite distinct, but also beautifully similar. Breathing together, listening to one another, creating something bigger and better than any one voice alone. Because music has this incredible way of saying: we all belong here. It doesn’t matter the language, the timbre, the pitch or the pace—we will all find something this afternoon that resonates with the people around us. In a choir, every voice matters. Every story matters. Whether you’ve been singing your whole life or you find yourself gently encouraged into some audience participation later on! Harmony Week recognises the Federal Government’s celebration of Australia’s multicultural nature and is dedicated to acknowledging the cultural diversity that has helped shape this country.
Building on more than 65,000 years of cultures, we acknowledge our First Nations brothers and sisters, and each of us, in our own way, continues to weave the story of this nation. Today, 52.5% of Australian residents were either born overseas or have at least one parent born somewhere else. Nearly every country—and continuing culture—in the world is represented among Australia’s population.
This concert is organised by the Southern Downs Refugee and Migrant Network, a not-for-profit community group. Proceeds from today’s concert will be donated to the Cisarua Learning Centre, an international network of schools dedicated to educating young refugee women and girls. And it’s worth pausing for a moment to reflect on just how important that is. Around the world right now, we’re seeing uncertainty, conflict and division. But time and again, we also see that when women and girls are given access to education, opportunity and a voice, communities become stronger, more stable, and more peaceful. Educated girls grow into women who lead, who nurture, who advocate, and who build bridges where others see barriers. Investing in their futures isn’t just an act of kindness—it’s one of the most powerful ways we can create harmony in the world. So today, through music and community, we’re also contributing to something much bigger.
