By Christopher Cooper
The Kaye Starr Singers, a 20-member award-winning choir and ensemble directed by composer and pianist Kaye Starr Heninger, recently toured Queensland bringing joy and hope to many through their songs and spirits.
Multi-stake Musical Firesides for members and friends were held at Kangaroo Point and Karrawatha Chapels, and the choir also staged their "Women of Honour" program at both the Cleveland and Rochedale Wards during Mothers' Day.
An extraordinary Saturday evening fireside occurred May 14th, when President Garth Pitman from the Ipswich Australia Stake declared they had been “visited by ministering angels from America” that night, who had “flown from America to Australia to offer heavenly strains of music to comfort those who had experienced so much loss during the horrific floods at Toowoomba.”
Peter and Sheila Sticklen living in Murphy’s Creek, had suffered much loss during the January floods, and they were visited one Saturday by the cheerful group of 19 “angels” who surveyed the damage to their property and listened to their inspirational story of survival. There, where the floods had nearly swept Brother Sticklen away, the Kaye Starr Singers sang their arrangement of “I Need Thee Every Hour” as a peaceful and intimate concert for this family that had endured so much since the floods.
The Kaye Starr Singers special programming has touched the hearts of thousands around the world with their love and passion for singing, and for sharing their testimonies through song. The choir has given over 800 performances since 1989, earning a number of awards along the way, including the Cultural Arts Award in 1997 from the First Presidency.
Picture courtesy of Shirley Hardman and used with permission