People

The musical leadership behind the choir.

Wayfarers is carried by volunteers, chapter leaders, families and singers. These key musical leaders help shape the repertoire, rehearsals and touring life of the choir.

Founder & Director

Judith Clingan AM

Judy is a composer, conductor, singer, recorder player, bassoonist, director, writer, visual artist and educator. She founded Canberra Children's Choir in 1967, Gaudeamus Music and Performing Arts in 1983, Voicebox Youth Opera in the 1990s and Wayfarers Australia in 1997.

Her work combines rigorous choral training with theatre, story, movement and visual imagination. She studied music education at the Kodaly Institute in Hungary and has taught music in schools, community organisations and Steiner/Waldorf settings across Australia and abroad.

Sydney Musical Director

Rohan Vicars

Rohan is a theatre-maker, performer, composer and music-theatre teacher with a long association with Wayfarers Australia. He stage-directed Wayfarers' touring production of The Little Prince, later co-directing the 2017 Canberra season with Judith Clingan and appearing on stage as the Aviator.

His work with young people includes Imagine theatre workshops in drama, music, costume and prop-making, and his own music has appeared in Wayfarers programs including Echoes and Glimpses. As Sydney Musical Director, he supports local rehearsals, concert preparation and the shared Wayfarers repertoire, helping connect Sydney singers into the wider touring choir.

Melbourne Musical Director

Gawain Davey

Gawain is a Melbourne-based composer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose musical life moves between classical composition, contemporary song and community performance. He sings and plays piano, alto saxophone, clarinet and recorder, bringing a broad practical musicianship to his work with the Melbourne chapter.

His own music favours thoughtful words, restless melody and richly changing harmony, with recordings released through Bandcamp including The Middle Ground and a 2014 Wayfarers Melbourne concert. As Melbourne Musical Director, he prepares singers for local concerts, workshops and combined Wayfarers projects, helping connect chapter rehearsal life with the choir's wider national and touring work.