Back from our four month tour of South East Asia and Australia

Phew! If you have been following my blog, Facebook page or Twitter, you will know by now that I have been away with my husband Yuwrajh for four months, from October 2019 to February 2020, on a sabbatical tour of South East Asia and Australia. After 12 years leading the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, it was time for some serious self-care, a time for reflection, time with family, and a chance to have some new experiences, and explore what choral singing in South East Asia and Australia is like.

Our route is outlined in the map above. First we stopped off in Taipei along the way, and then based ourselves with my in-laws in Singapore. We did a circle from there, up through Malaysia (KL, Ipoh, Penang) to Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai); then across to Vietnam (Hanoi) and the Philippines (Manila, Cebu, Bantayan Island); next back down to Bali (Ubud, Sanur), and home to New York via Singapore. I also interrupted the trip to go to Australia twice, first to Canberra and later to Sydney and Melbourne.

My main objective personally was self care. I needed a deep rest and chance to get a new perspective on my life and career. In the process, we met some amazing people, saw lots of new places, and I had a number of opportunities to give back, which was fantastic. In late October, I attended the Out&Loud Festival in Canberra, to do a jazz and blues workshop and a talk on impact and vision with Kathleen McGuire-Sexton. From my other blogposts, you’ll also see I did a December workshop for LGBTIQ+ activists in Hanoi. Then in mid-January I returned to Australia for a day’s workshop with Sydney Gay Lesbian Choir, and visited family in Melbourne.

This kind of opportunity only comes around once in a lifetime. Now back in New York and based here for the forseeable future, I feel incredibly grateful to the many generous and kind people who made it possible, from New York and around the world. I return revived and healed, feeling newly re-energized, confident and powerful in what I have achieved so far in my life. I have also been reminded of the extra-ordinary work being done by so many musicians around the world with very little support and few resources, to change people’s lives for the better. I am ready once again to do the same.

Check out my other blogposts to see what I got up to. And while you are at it, go see my new custom arrangements page, which includes a lot of the writing work I did for individual choirs along the way, including Anna Crusis Women’s Choir, Sydney Lesbian and Gay Choir, Austin Gay Men’s Chorus, and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

Finally, watch this space for a new YouTube channel and a book in coming months.