Judy Ferguson has been directing the Murrumbidgee Magic chorus for two years and the Wagga City Rugby Male Choir for eight years.

Ms Ferguson said there is more to directing than what an audience may see. 

“It’s preparing the music, learning the music, knowing all the parts yourself and being able to find the right teaching strategies,” she said.

“You need to have the best way to get that across in a fun way.

“The end result is a good performance and lots of fun.” 

Her history in music and directing goes back fifty years ago, Ms Ferguson said. 

“From my first day of teaching when we used to have a broadcast every Tuesday afternoon and the children would sing,” she said. 

“Music was always part of education, right from the word ‘go’.” 

Ms Ferguson can clearly remember her first day when she played the piano for the students to sing along too. 

“That then developed into taking school choirs for all my teaching career and mainly directing them,” she said. 

Former school choir students may remember a strict director that demanded excellence, but Ms Ferguson puts the emphasis on fun. 

"I go the chill, calm style,” she said. 

“It’s a balance between wanting the singers to be good at what they do, but I have to enjoy it.

“I’m a bit more flamboyant and I like the musicality to come out and I am technical to a certain degree, but technicality does not go over the top of making sure we have the musicality.” 

Ms Ferguson said it’s important for the singers to tell the audience the story through their movements and facial expressions. 

“On the outside I be might chill and relaxed, but inside I still want the music and the words to be correct.

“I don’t just want the notes and words, I want the story.”

Unable to pick one moment over the decades of teaching and directing, Ms Ferguson said she would have to pick three highlights.

“At school here in Wagga,we use to have the Combined Schools Choral Festival and you had over 300 children in the theatre doing mass singing,” she said.

“That is something I will never forget.

“With my Murrumbidgee Magic chorus, we have done a lot of competitions and coming home with a gold medal is always a highlight.

“From the men’s choir, we did a wonderful trip overseas and from that point the Wagga City Rugby Male Choir took off and bloomed.” 

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