Musical friendship

A musical friendship stretching back half a century will return to the Cowra stage next month when Japanese choir Chor-Farmer arrives for its 23rd visit to the town. Twenty-five members of the choir will perform at the Cowra Civic Centre at 2pm on Sunday, 18 October, as part of their 2026 Peace and Goodwill Tour of New Zealand and Australia. Far more than another concert on Cowra’s calendar, the visit continues a relationship which began in 1976 and has since become part of the town’s enduring connection with Japan. With the exception of the COVID-19 years, Chor-Farmer has travelled to Cowra every two years for the past five decades, donating its performances to promote peace and goodwill while supporting the Cowra-Seikei Student Exchange Program. This year’s tour will take the choir through three cities in New Zealand, including Featherston, which was the site of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during the Second World War, before travelling to Adelaide and then Cowra. The decision to include both Featherston and Cowra continues the choir’s longstanding connection with communities whose wartime histories with Japan have developed into relationships centred on reconciliation and friendship. Cowra-Seikei Student Exchange Committee chairman Bob Griffiths said all proceeds from the Cowra concert would be directed back into the exchange program. “Chor Farmer are returning to Cowra this year with 25 members, for their 23rd visit as part of their Peace and Goodwill Tour of NZ and Australia,” Mr Griffiths said in correspondence regarding the event. “With the exception of the Covid years, they have been coming to Cowra every two years since 1976. “All proceeds from the concert go to the Seikei Exchange Programme, with Chor Farmer donating their time to promote Peace and Goodwill.” The concert will therefore serve two purposes: welcoming back a group which has built a remarkable association with Cowra over generations, while raising money to help continue another long-running connection between Cowra and Japan. The Seikei Student Exchange Program has also operated in Cowra since 1976 and is run by volunteers, providing another avenue through which relationships between young people in Cowra and Japan have been fostered. The Rotary Club of Cowra supports the visits, including helping arrange accommodation for the visiting choir members. Cr Peter Wright said the longevity of the relationship was something Cowra could be proud of, describing Chor-Farmer as a highly accomplished group of Japanese agricultural students. “They are a very professional group of agricultural students that are in a choir from Japan,” Cr Wright said. He recalled his own first encounter with the group following a rugby match, when the language barrier did little to prevent the visitors and Cowra residents from connecting through music. “They didn’t have very much English dialogue with us ... but then they could do renditions in English or Australian language of rugby songs,” he said. “It just goes to show how teaching and everything can happen.” Cr Wright said Chor-Farmer had become an important part of the relationship Cowra had developed with Japan. “They’re very good performers, and I think Cowra should be proud of the long association with them,” he said. “I think it’s a very good base for our Cowra-Japanese relationship, and they do support the Seikei School exchange very well.” That relationship has required considerable community support behind the scenes, with visiting choir members billeted during their stay rather than accommodated commercially. Cr Wright acknowledged the Rotary Club of Cowra’s contribution in organising free accommodation for members of the visiting group. The October concert is also intended to ensure the benefits of Chor-Farmer’s visit continue after the final song has been performed. The Cowra-Seikei Student Exchange Committee approached Cowra Shire Council for financial assistance with hiring the Civic Centre, allowing a greater proportion of money raised through ticket sales to flow into the exchange program. The estimated Civic Centre venue hire cost was originally $3,075 before the existing 40 per cent concession available to eligible volunteer organisations was applied. The committee sought a Council donation of up to $1,107.15 excluding GST to assist with the remaining venue and estimated ticketing costs. Mr Griffiths told Council the committee expected an audience of around 120 people and said the combination of concession-priced tickets and event expenses meant ticket sales alone were unlikely to leave a substantial amount for the exchange program. “Given that many of our audience will be at concession rates, the likelihood of ticket sales covering our costs is not great,” he said. “I am writing to ask if Council would consider a donation to the Exchange Committee to offset some of these costs and ensure that some benefit can flow to the Exchange programme, which is Chor Farmers intention.” The request was recommended for support under Council’s Section 356 donations program, with Council officers noting the concert met several elements of the Donations Policy, including supporting special events which enhance community spirit, locally based volunteer programs reliant on fundraising and community use of Council-owned facilities. Cr Erin Watt spoke in support of the request, saying the choir had repeatedly contributed to Cowra’s cultural and peace connections while helping the Seikei program raise funds. She said the choir’s low-cost, community-supported approach demonstrated the voluntary nature of the visit, with members billeted during their time in Cowra. “It’s a really great opportunity for us to both support Chor-Farmer in their contributions to Cowra, as well as support the Seikei Exchange Program in continuing,” Cr Watt said. She also stressed that the existing community organisation discount on venue hire was available more broadly and should not be considered the same as a direct donation towards the fundraiser. “It’s noted here that all proceeds from the program will go towards the exchange,” she said. “I think it’s a really beneficial program for us to provide this donation, so that they can make some money in their fundraiser to continue to support this program, which has been going for a very long time.” The return of Chor-Farmer comes 50 years after the choir first began visiting Cowra, meaning generations of both Japanese visitors and Cowra residents have now participated in the tradition. While the faces within the choir have changed over those decades, its purpose has remained closely tied to music, cultural exchange, peace and goodwill. For Cowra, a community where its wartime history with Japan has evolved into decades of reconciliation and friendship, the October concert will provide another opportunity to continue that story. Chor-Farmer will perform at the Cowra Civic Centre at 2pm on Sunday, 18 October, with proceeds supporting the Cowra-Seikei Student Exchange Program.