FESTIVAL OF VOICES WORLD PREMIERE

SONG ABOUT TASMANIA WITH SINGING STARS THE EXCHANGE (USA)

Today (Friday 28 August) at 12noon AEST the Festival of Voices and US pop a
cappella group The Exchange will reveal to the world a new song and video about
our remarkable state.

The song ‘To You Tasmania’ was composed in 1979 by Dr Alan Tucker for the 6th District
Military Band and Hobart Orpheus Choir – Australia’s oldest continuous choir.

In 2015 as part of the Festival of Voices, we asked our friends, US vocal pop group The
Exchange to interpret the song in their own style.

The song is a celebration of Tasmania, bringing together the ‘old’ and new’ – and the
outcome…world class. It will be premiered exclusively online today from 12noon on The
Mercury newspaper website at http://www.themercury.com.au for local, national and
international audiences to view.

The video will be shared predominantly online and through social media – The Exchange,
Festival of Voices and Tourism Tasmania working together to encourage the sharing of this
content. Not only does the Festival want to share this song with the people of Tasmania, but
reach new, different audiences and enlighten others about what makes our state and offering
so unique. The Exchange has a strong domestic and international audience, particularly in
China and South Korea and this song about Tasmania will be pushed into these markets.

Song lyrics
Video will be premiered at: http://www.themercury.com.au/entertainment/festival-of-voicesa-
capella-group-the-exchange-records-song-and-video-for-tasmania/story-fnj3tycr-
1227501702259

Tasmania (Here’s To You) music video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/khk93rakxd4h2yk/FOVM15596%20The%20Exchange%20Music
%20Video%20V7%20Graded%20Correct%20Audio.mp4?dl=0

Original audio recording of the song:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/u29wrn5h25qgaxa/To%20You%20Tasmania%20Side%201.mp3?
dl=0

Recording the music video with The Exchange, Saturday 4 July 2015

Quote from Tony Bonney, Festival of Voices Director:

“This project is a remarkable example of those special things that happen when you connect
seemingly unconnected people, and how amazing are the results! While the “Song for
Tasmania” project was always intended to use song to celebrate our unique state, we never
would have guessed what would happen when you connect a group of young American a
cappella pop stars with a Composer/Doctor in Sandy Bay through a song written in the 1970’s
for a choir and brass band.

Last year Tex Perkins and now this – not only do we feel this is a special song – but it is
obvious that Dr Tucker and The Exchange both share the same passion for this state.”

SONG FOR TASMANIA – PROJECT BACKGROUND:

In 2014 the Festival of Voices partnered with Tourism Tasmania to commission Australian
rock legend Tex Perkins to write a song about Tasmania that invoked a spirit and feeling
about our remarkable state. The song titled “See for Yourself” debuted at the Festival
Opening Night on Friday 3 July 2014 to a sell out crowd at Hobart City Hall. The song
attracted significant national media, further positioning the Festival’s profile in front of new
audiences around the country.

FUTURE:

The innovative success of this project has encouraged other artists to create and contribute to
a new body of work that reflects the Festival’s strategic and long term approach. This new
song by The Exchange is part of this new body of work. A key aim of this strategy is to share
content through local, national and international destination networks. Ultimately this project
is about articulating personal experiences – individual responses rather than a
corporate response.

THE VIDEO:
The footage was captured this July whilst The
Exchange performed in Hobart and
Launceston. Working with a local film crew,
the team travelled to significant destinations
to capture the guys experiencing the very
best of what our state has to offer.
Locations included; Mount Wellington, City of
Hobart Bonfire & Big Sing, Bellerive Beach,
Richmond, Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary as
well as the guys performing onstage with their
workshop group in Hobart and Launceston.

Quote from Richard Steighner, The Exchange:
“We honestly never thought we’d write a song about Tasmania! But it became a kind of
passion project. The Exchange has performed in Tassie twice now, and our group has fallen
in love with it.

It’s such an inspirational place so we found a lot to write about, but we wanted to make
something that fit our style.

The Festival of Voices asked us to remix “To You Tasmania” by the 6th District Military Band
and Hobart Orpheus Choir. Then over a couple of months and dozens of drafts, we ended up
with a completely different take on the older, classical piece.

We just hope somebody listening to it down in Tasmania enjoys it! We had a lot of fun writing
it and I can’t wait to go back.”
Carmen Stephens, Festival of Voices