A Country Women’ s Chorus (2013) created over three days by audio artist Ceridwen Suiter, with delegates of the inaugural National Rural Women’s Conference, at the National Convention Centre, Canberra.  The content of the music is derived from the acoustic ecology of place, namely found sounds from the conference venue and field recordings of the attending delegates and their music experiences.  This environmental music captures the spirit of the conference and tapestry of sounds that envelope the every day lives of Australian rural women.  The newly composed music performed at the closing ceremony of the conference, provides an aural document of three days of women gathering together.

The project is an initiative of Robyn Archer, the Festival director, Centenary Celebrations of the Founding of Canberra, Australia.   She sought the deliberate inclusion of the arts in many activities taking place in Canberra during the centenary celebrations.  The Canberra Convention Bureau, and the Board of the National Rural Women’s Coalition and Network actively participated in making this project happen, while the conference attendees enthusiastically embraced this opportunity to participate in making new music.