The Beginning
Zing! Sing in Dutch began in June 2016 in response to an urge amongst Melbourne’s Dutch-speaking community to have a place to sing in Dutch, and socialise with other Dutch speakers. Since then, we have been very busy singing in Dutch all around Melbourne (Australia) – and we also have a lot of fun!What is ZING! Sing in Dutch?
ZING! is a Melbourne-based community choir and band, open to all, with no auditions. Whether you are a fluent Dutch speaker, or just starting an exploration of your Dutch heritage, or interested in learning about Dutch language and culture, ZING! welcomes you. Sung in choirs all your life? Never sung in a choir? Read music? Don’t read music? ZING! welcomes you! Rehearsals are conducted in English, with translations and pronunciation assistance available to all.Rehearsals
Thursday nights during Victorian school terms. Rehearsal detailsDirector
ZING! is led by Musical Director Sam Hartley and Associate Director Sally Byron.. They both lead and have led multiple community choirs in Melbourne and bring decades of experience as professional musical performers, choir leaders, and music teachers.House band
ZING! rehearsals and performances are enhanced by our resident “house band” playing guitar, clarinet, keyboard, accordion, recorder, and saxophone. Repertoire
ZING! performs a huge variety of songs in Dutch. From folksongs to cabaret, hip-hop to waltzes, 16th Century golden oldies to boppy current pop songs, children’s songs to retro classicsWe sing them all.
Our repertoire includes songs by artists such as Nick en Simon, Guus Meeuwis, Jeroen Zijlstra, Reverse, Frank Boeijen, Marco Borsato, Noordkaap, Herman Van Veen, Anouk, Wim Sonneveld, Peter Koelewijn, Tylman Susato, Acda en de Munnik, Boudewijn de Groot, BOTS, Suzan & Freek, Doe Maar, BLØF, Brigitte Kaandorp and many more. Audience singalong is encouraged!
Performances and projects
ZING! has performed at Holland Festival, Tesselaar Tulip Festival, Dutch Club Abel Tasman, The Boite (including Singers Festival 2021), Dutchies of the Dandenongs, German Club Tivoli, Koningsdag celebrations, Church of All Nations Carlton, Buxton Contemporary art gallery, and events for Dutch elders. In 2018 we appeared on Dutch TV RTL Late Night with a sung invitation to Guus Meeuwis to come to Australia. ZING! has organised collaborative concerts with groups such as The Lost Clog (Lithuanian folk group), Prahran Accordion Band, and Northern Voice. The group has also supported charity Cystic Fibrosis Community Care through fund-raising concerts.
ZING! members have initiated and run social research, and community arts projects involving the Dutch community in the Dandenong Ranges and beyond. Exploring, documenting, and sharing stories and music of Dutch migration form an important part of ZING! activities. Some of the stories can be found on the website Dutch Australians at a Glance.
Lockdown
In 2020 ZING! pivoted to Zoom, and continued singing every week throughout lockdown.Projects included:
- recordings of Dutch sea shanties for an art installation A_Sorrowful_Act by Dr. Drew Pettifer;
- a collaboration with Dutch singer-song-writer Stephanie Struijk including a public Zoom concert/interview with her;
- Zoom Zingalong collaboration and celebration with Elwood Community Choir;
- Zoom Sinterklaas singalong with residents of aged care home Margriet Manor, Kilsyth;
- weekly bakkie troost sessions for community support during lockdown.
In 2021 ZING! returned to weekly rehearsals in South Melbourne, in COVID-Safe conditions.
