Singer Sarah Duffey is bound for the Front & Centre’s National Championships after placing first in five song categories in Kyabram on Wednesday, June 19.
For Sarah, singing is part of who she is.
She sings because she loves to and has been making up her own songs and performing them since she was a toddler.
But it was for her rendition of a number of classic and popular tunes that earned Sarah her place on the national stage on the Gold Coast.
She performed Bon Iver’s Skinny Love as her song choice for the ‘any’ category, Hopelessly Devoted To You by Olivia Newton-John as her ballad, Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood as her country selection, God Help The Outcasts from the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame as her Disney piece and Burn from Hamilton as her musical theatre piece.
She placed first in all five categories.
As a result she was also named Front & Centre’s regional vocal age champion in the under-16s.
After all of these performances, Sarah returned to Kyabram on Sunday, June 23, to compete for Front & Centre’s duet crown, and an opportunity to add to her growing trophy cabinet.
When not singing competitively, Sarah sings with Con Spirito Voices — a singing group who “sing mainly for fun” and whose members range from 16 to 75.
She also fronts local band Anagram Riot, which has appeared at numerous local events and recently competed in the Play on the Plains Battle of the Bands.
Throughout her journey in music, playing gigs, in bands and in choirs, Sarah has found that the relationships with other performers and musicians have been a highlight.
She said the community of people around her have been both helpful and inspirational.
Sarah received vocal coaching and training through the Macquarie Conservatorium and has aspirations to turn her music into a profession.
She hopes to study musical theatre, which only seems fitting for a young person with so much talent, drive and passion for music and the arts.