A homegrown singer who treads the boards alongside Australia’s theatre royalty is returning to Ballarat briefly to perform her jazz stylings.
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Clare Ellen O’Connor is now based in Sydney, but the former Ballarat High School pupil and Arts Academy graduate is returning to perform a night of jazz at Nouvelle Orleans on Saturday.
O’Connor has worked alongside Bobby Fox (Jersey Boys) and Lucy Durack (Wicked), and has just finished a four-month national tour of Room on the Broom, an Olivier Award-nominated children’s show.
With her singing background squarely in jazz, O'Connor said her deep-seated love for the music was a family affair.
“Our grandfather who lives in Ballarat was an old jazz drummer back in the day, so we grew up listening to it,” she said.
“He’d come over and bring a record, or share with me a unique recording he’d found during the day.
“For the performance my baby sister Ruby is doing backing vocals, which is really exciting because we don’t get to sing together often.
“We’re family of jazz lovers and it’s a genre my sister and I are really passionate about.”
The performance will cover primarily 1930s, 40s and 50s jazz, with classics from Duke Ellington, Hoagy Carmichael, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.
O’Connor and her assembled band The Getaway Sticks, made up of locals Damien Woods, Ian Rietoff and Al Lethlean, will also be rearranging modern tunes to fit with their jazz style.
“It’ll start more low-key and then end up as a bit of a dance party later,” she said.
While she’s enjoying an opportunity to relax, O’Connor said she’s preparing to return to Sydney for the festive season, with an role in Catherine Alcorn’s cabaret The Divine Miss Bette Christmas Special.
“I’ll soon be heading back into the slog of auditioning.
“I’m also performing at the Lord Mayor’s Picnic on New Years Eve, which is an amazing event on Sydney Harbour for families who have had a rough year.
“It’s a bit of a kid’s wonderland before finishing with fireworks, it’s going to be heaps of fun,” she said.
Clare Ellen O’Connor and The Getaway Sticks play this Saturday 7.30pm at Nouvelle Orleans, 28 Main Road.
Cover $10, two-course dinner and show $50. Bookings on 0401316063 or at the Nouvelle Orleans website.