ABSTRACT
Bathurst is a non-metropolitan centre in New South Wales, Australia. Located over 200 kilometres west of Sydney, it has a population of just over 43,000, with a demographic and socioeconomic profile in line with the state average. In March 2018, Mitchell Conservatorium (MitCon), a not-for-profit, government subsidised community music education institution based in Bathurst, led a free group singing session in a public bar. The song was announced via social media the day before the event, with neither requirement nor opportunity for participants to prepare. Since the initial event, the activity has been repeated each month with a regular core of 60 participants and a frequent attendance of 80. This chapter explores the evolution and prospective implications of an emergent community of practice, within a regional music ecology, that is supported by a government-subsidised music education structure.
