Mary Croaker, the Indigenous Advancement Strategy Coordinator at both Bowen and Glenroi primaries, said she approached the Conservatorium (ORC) with the idea of combining music education with Wiradjuri language.

She was immediately met with huge enthusiasm for the project. Within very little time, both primary schools picked 10 girls each to begin attending ORC for music lessons.

Then, thanks to Glenroi Heights Public School's support learning officer, Tammy Wilson, as well as Wiradjuri elders the popular song We Are Australian (or We Are One) was translated into Wiradjuri for the students.

By then, the choir also had a name too - Wula Gurray (meaning "voice of change").

"It was just exciting for the kids to hear their voice," Ms Croaker said - not just for the Indigenous choir members either, she added.

For the choir is comprised of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children.

"We feel it's important that non-Indigenous kids have a better understanding of the Indigenous history," she explained.

"We're all in this together [and] we all need to be part of the preservation of our Indigenous history.... and I think our kids are going to do that for us."

Another reason for establishing the choir in partnership with ORC was to make music and musical instruments more accessible to students from the two schools.

Since the choir started at the beginning of Term 2, ORC conductor Samantha Bartholomeusz said it was obvious the sense of community the Wula Gurray choir had helped create between the girls and their schools.

"It's been amazing seeing these kids on their buses, singing as they're coming in. I've been behind them in my car as they've been driving in and all the kids are singing on the bus," she said.

"They just embrace each other as well. It's not two schools vying [against each other]... It's been fantastic to see them working as a group... and the joy on their faces when they perform. It was fantastic.... [and] getting up in front of your peers is a hard, hard thing."

At the end of Term 2, before the city went into lockdown, the choir celebrated its success by giving performances at each school, reducing some of the parents in attendance to tears.

While the lockdown has since prevented the choir's rehearsals, organisers hope to get students back together soon, with the aim of seeing "how big this can get", the Conservatorium's Tim Cummins said.

"We've always had the intent to grow it - maybe to four or five or six schools.... and to start to commission music written specifically for the choir in Wiradjuri language, which a lot of kids haven't heard [before]," he said.

"I think we can play an important role bringing people together and coordinating the music-side of it.... But it's new territory for everybody. It's so exciting."

As well as involving more students and more schools, creators of the choir were also hoping to include more boys to play the digeridoo to accompany the singers, as well as Wiradjuri elders to give children a better grasp of the ancient language they were singing in.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: