Tonight’s Australian Story shines a spotlight on Astrid Jorgensen, the woman behind Pub Choir, whose unusual path to the stage has been anything but straightforward.
Astrid Jorgensen admits she has long had a love-hate relationship with music. Yet that hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of the country’s most recognisable musical figures, thanks to her creation of the community singing phenomenon Pub Choir, where strangers belt out tunes together in three-part harmony.
As a child, she showed natural talent, but her confidence was shattered by a difficult violin teacher.
“I thought that music was torture during this time.
Music’s not for me.”
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Her search for meaning took her to Africa with hopes of joining a convent, before eventually turning to teaching high school music.
It was only after she hit on the idea of bringing ordinary people together to sing that she finally found her direction.
“I try and have a transformation between me and the audience, where I start out as the performer… and then by the end, I hope to switch.”
From suburban bars, Pub Choir has grown into an international act, with appearances on America’s Got Talent and praise from superstar Kate Bush.
Musician Ben Lee says her work is about more than just singing.
“It’s about togetherness … an experience that can only happen in a real-life space with human beings.
She’s an original.
She’s one of a kind.”
Australian Story: Striking a Chord – Astrid Jorgensen airs tonight, Monday 29 September at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
[SRC] https://tvblackbox.com.au/page/2025/09/29/astrid-jorgensen-bares-her-untold-journey-on-australian-story-tonight/
