Dubbo Sing Australia choir celebrates 20 years, conductor Bob Lloyd reflects

And for one member, it's been much more than just a choir.

The Dubbo Sing Australia choir was formed in 2002 to give people in the community the opportunity to sing for fun, without pressure or the need to audition.

The Dubbo choir is one of a number of Sing Australia groups across the country founded by Colin Slater.

"At the time his aim was to spread the love and joy of singing to rural communities and Dubbo being a large rural community, he came out to Dubbo and he would advertise a workshop for anyone who was interested in singing," conductor of Sing Australia Dubbo Bob Lloyd explained.

"There were no auditions required, you didn't need to be able to read music or have any musical talent or ability, just a joy of singing and wanting to sing.

"He held these sorts of workshops in centres where he wanted to start choirs, and that's how it got started."

The choir began with Margaret Nicholson as the group's fist leader and conductor, along with founding members Myra Wells, Steve Aughey, Georgina Back, Vicki Canalese, Tiger Paxton and Kay Tucker.

The group of almost 30 people gather Monday nights at the Bridge Club on Bultje Street to sing a repertoire of songs and enjoy supper.

"It's a good group. We're able to not just do unison singing, but we're able to do some part singing which is also very rewarding for people who enjoy that sort of thing," Mr Lloyd said.

Among their 20 years in the community, the singing group have have performed at the local Anzac Day dawn service, at the aged care facilities, the farmer's markets on the first of each month, and occasionally the group pop up at Dubbo Square and Orana Mall.

At Christmas time the group can also be found carolling outside homes decorated in Christmas lights.

"So we try and do that regularly to get out in the community and advertise ourselves and provide a bit of entertainment for half an hour," Mr Lloyd said.

Over the years members have also travelled interstate for national Sing Australia gatherings at places such as Alice Springs, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and Adelaide.

Some members of the Dubbo choir have also been as far as Anzac Cove at Gallipoli to sing at memorial services.

"The national gatherings are very good because we've had well over 1000 people at times getting together, and because we have a common repertoire we can rehearse certain songs before the gathering and then we're able to sing them all together," Mr Lloyd said.

"It's a wonderful experience."

For Mr Lloyd - who has been a member for 10 years - the weekly Monday night catch-ups are also a good opportunity to socialise, and explained he was amazed at how much his mental health improved being part of the singing group.

"I started off at what was the end of my teaching career," he said.

"I joined Sing Australia and it's helped immensely with my physical conditions, but also depression, anxiety and those sorts of things.

"It's a wonderful medicine, getting together with people with similar interests and singing your heart out whether you sound good or not."

While COVID-19 and lockdowns forced the group to shut down for a few months, Mr Lloyd said the group had returned stronger than ever, and were celebrating 20 years in Dubbo with a 'Happy Day's' theme on June 25.

Members from other groups in the district will join the choir at Wesley Hall on Church Street in Dubbo from 5.30pm to enjoy a buffet dinner along with 50s and 60s inspired music.

Sing Australia's national director Colin Slater will be in town to present the seven original members with their 20-year award.

"It's going to be a great night and a good celebration," Mr Lloyd said.