Like many classical singers we have performed in a whole lot of churches over the years. We have always loved how these sacred buildings make acoustic music sound absolutely beautiful. I once asked Emlyn what his favourite instrument was and he said “a church.”

In March 2020, after two years living in Nashville TN, we came home to Australia for a visit but then pandemic spread, planes were grounded, borders closed, and we found ourselves back home in Australia.

While we waited to see what would happen, we rented Jackling Cottage, a 19th-century row cottage in Goolwa. This small South Australian town sits at the very end of the River Murray’s journey, where the river widens out to meet the great Southern Ocean. A friend loaned me a piano, and I wrote song cycles about wine, set Shakespeare songs, and created lullabies with families.

Then the owners sold Jackling Cottage, the new owners didn’t want tenants. Emlyn was successfully working remotely and we realised we could begin looking for our own home, where we could settle, live, and make music.

At the end of 2022, we found it: a one hundred and fifty year old church with the most glorious live acoustics in Burra, a small country town two hours drive north of Adelaide. The church was decommissioned 50 years ago, but the story of its life is written into the building. Stained glass windows commemorate the lives of congregants.

Burra sits 10 kilometres from Goyder’s Line , which iswhere the desert of South Australia officially begins. The region is dry and dusty and very beautiful.

We’ve been here for three years. Long enough to discover that mice eat through plumbing, old church roofs leak, and when it’s time to change a lightbulb, we need to borrow scaffolding from a friendly tradie.

But the sky is so big here, the landscape is wide and open, and our work is flourishing. In May 2023 we produced the world’s first Farty Bard Festival right here in Burra, celebrating the sillier side of Shakespeare with 5 visiting performing arts companies, with support from wonderful local volunteers of Mid North Arts, Country Arts SA, the Burra Town Hall and the Goyder Council.

We have house concerts with local and visiting guests, recording sessions and singing workshops. I’ve run a very special Lullaby Project Australia lullaby project here, which we recorded here in the church.

We also discovered that Emlyn’s great great great great grandparents came from Cornwall for the Burra mines, lived in the dugouts and are buried in the Burra cemetery.

Burra is a special little town. People here are enthusiastic about our endeavors and we are grateful indeed to be part of this small community.