You don't need to have a good voice to sing.
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This is the message Camilla Ward, Dubbo-based creative voice coach, wants to spread.
Ms Ward will be leading a therapeutic sing-song under the trees during the Dubbo Women's Festival.
For her, singing is all about inclusion and community - something the festival will also tap into.
"I can see the difference that singing makes in bringing people together, and especially after COVID," Ms Ward told the Daily Liberal.
"It's really interesting now how people are wanting to try different experiences and, as we're now learning, it's such a wonderful stress release.
"It's therapeutic, it raises the energy and there's no better way to do it than under the trees at lunchtime with a lovely free lunch as well provided."
Bringing people together
Ms Ward is well-known in the Dubbo community for being passionate about singing and bringing out people's creative voices - and is excellent at it.
She works with the dementia-friendly Sing Out Choir, led the successful Pub Rock Choir, and is a member of the community women's choir, Cantando Sorelle.
She said being involved in the inaugural Women's Festival was a "no brainer" because music brings people together.
"There's no pressure, it's a bit of fun and hopefully [participants] will meet other women and who knows where that might lead," she said.
Ms Ward, also a trained music and drama teacher, began her voice coaching business The Creative Voice to break down the barriers to singing, particularly the thought process that singing is only for those who are good at it.
"I saw a period of time where the arts and especially performing arts and the creative arts became less and less of a focus in schools and that was not the teacher's fault," she said.
The dementia choir has been a huge success in the Dubbo community and has attracted people of multiple generations to sing together.
"With Sing Out, it's just been incredible to see the difference it's making in people's lives and not just the people that sing, but it's the flow on effect for the community as well," Ms Ward said.
"That sense of well being when you come together and you have a bit of fun."
At the festival, women will be singing I Am Woman and Lean On Me.
"It's not a performance, it's an experience and that's what I love about what I do - it gives people a different opportunity to experience themselves and others," she said.
Ms Ward has been helping people find their voices in the Dubbo community for almost two decades but it still touches her heart.
"To see the joy on people's faces, and also, from when they start because obviously there's a bit of apprehension," she said.
A lot of people she comes across have trauma to do with singing, because they might have been told they couldn't sing in the choir, or it was an elite thing.
"I'm very much about, just people having the opportunity and the experience to join in and have some fun," she said.
"I definitely get a buzz from it and I love talking to people afterwards and just feeling that energy when you finally do perform the song and people let go.
"There's that bit of freedom and people can just forget whatever else is going on in their lives and just enjoy it themselves."
Can anyone sing, we asked?
"I believe anybody can sing. And everybody should have the opportunity because we look at different cultures how it really has been part of various cultures to sing from a young age," Ms Ward said.
"I'm not saying that everyone's going to end up at the Opera House, but I think everybody should definitely have the experience of singing.
"I mean, we've got this instrument and it's called our vocal chords. So why not give it a go."
Dubbo Women's Festival
The inaugural Dubbo Women's Festival is a free event taking place for International Women's Day on Friday, March 8, from 9.30am to 3pm at Western Plains Cultural Centre.
Organised around the theme of 'Seasons of a Woman's Life,' the event will include opportunities for relaxation, care, information, and connection for women of all ages and life stages.
Women will have opportunities to engage with health and well-being services and social communities, from panel discussions to displays and one-on-one interactions.
Find out more at dubbowomen.com.au