Wayfarers Australia
A travelling choir shaped by learning, generosity and song.
Founded in 1997 by Judith Clingan AM, Wayfarers Australia brings together singers across generations to perform choral music, music theatre and workshop programs in Australia and overseas.
The Choir
Four parts, many ages, one sound.
Wayfarers Australia began when Judy Clingan drew together students, parents and teachers from Steiner and Waldorf school communities in eastern Australia. The choir was created to help teenagers, especially boys, discover the pleasure and confidence of singing in four-part harmony. It began as a Steiner-based group, and is now open to anyone from around the age of ten who loves choral singing.
The repertoire reaches across sacred and secular traditions: medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Romantic and contemporary works, alongside folk music from many cultures. Performances often widen into music theatre, with instrumental music, drama, movement, puppetry and visual art.
Tours are intentionally low-budget and community-minded. Wayfarers performs, teaches workshops and meets other singers in schools, churches, halls and local arts spaces, making choral music feel close, human and shared.
The older Wayfarers site described the choir's guiding belief beautifully: heartfelt choral music is one of the most important human activities for singers and listeners alike, and a joyful expression of common humanity. That remains the heart of the work.
Community Singing
Music is something everyone can enter.
Wayfarers workshops are designed so children, teenagers and adults can experience more than standing in rows and singing notes. Participants may sing, act, move, play recorders or percussion, explore music history, and help build a theatrical world together.
The choir's touring life has always been a form of exchange. Wayfarers arrives as performers and teachers, but also as guests: listening, learning, sharing meals and making music with local communities.
Judy's Approach
Singing belongs at the centre of a child's education.
Judith Clingan's life in music education places singing, musicianship, imagination and ensemble work at the heart of child development. Her practice reflects a belief that children learn deeply when music is embodied: through voice, listening, movement, story, theatre, instrument playing, memory, discipline and joy.
That philosophy is visible in the Wayfarers model. Younger singers learn from older singers, adults keep learning from children, and the rehearsal room becomes a place where musical skill and social confidence grow together.
In practice, this means every voice matters. A new singer can be carried by the ensemble while they grow, and an experienced singer is asked to support the sound, the story and the people around them.
Founder and Director
Judith Clingan AM
Judy is an Australian composer, conductor, singer, instrumentalist, director, writer, visual artist and educator. Born in Sydney in 1945, she graduated from the Australian National University in 1966 and founded the Canberra Children's Choir in 1967.
Her background includes study in voice, bassoon, composition and choral conducting, as well as music education at the Kodaly Institute in Hungary. She has directed many choirs and music theatre projects, founded Gaudeamus, Voicebox Youth Opera Canberra and Wayfarers Australia, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1986 for services to music.
Meet the musical team