Other leading roles have included Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz; Carl Bruner in Ghost The Musical; Greg Connell in The Boy From Oz; and Sid Worley in An Officer And A Gentleman.
Rathgeber said he was honoured to be asked to be patron of the eisteddfod a few years ago.
“I vividly remember being on stage at the Wesley Performing Arts Centre, and singing songs that I was learning with Ann Dickson, who was my first singing teacher,” he said.
“I’d sing songs like That’s Love and His Eye Is On The Sparrow and all these beautiful songs that were the first songs in my repertoire.”
Rathgeber said as well as working with his singing teacher, the eisteddfod was a great training ground for him to develop as a singer.
“There are so many different aspects to understand when it comes to music and singing, but also standing up on stage performing, how you carry yourself, good posture, all the etiquette involved in entering and exiting the stage, and how you introduce yourself,” he said.
“There are so many basic essentials that you learn, which are so useful not just for performing, but for engaging with people in day-to-day life in general.”
Rathgeber said he performed in various sections of the eisteddfods over the years – playing piano and alto saxophone, solo singing, choir performances and ensembles.
“I think it taught me a lot of invaluable things – how to be on stage as an individual, and step into the spotlight, but also when you’re part of an ensemble or a choir, to learn how to blend with other voices and other instruments, which is a different skill.
“It also gave me a lot of confidence in that once you’ve done all your practice over months and months leading up to it, that you then get up and just give it your best shot.”
Rathgeber said performing in eisteddfods also helped him learn to deal with nervousness.
“I think there’s always the inherent nerves that come with performing for pretty much everyone, and it taught me, in those early days, how to combat those nerves and how to expect them to be there so they wouldn’t necessarily be overwhelming,” he said.
Rathgeber’s eisteddfod performances started with piano in his primary school days, more than 30 years ago.
“There was a category that I was really proud to win – that was original composition,” he said.
“A lot of the music that kids learn might have been around for a long time, a bit more of a classical repertoire, but this was a kind of contemporary original piece, and an Australian piece – it was just really pretty, beautiful, and quite simple.
“I remember I won the category and I loved that piece. I was pretty young, so to win was a real thrill.”
Entries open
Entries for this year’s eisteddfod close on Sunday, with the event set for July 26 and 27 at Horsham Church of Christ and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Horsham.
“I’m thrilled to be associated with the eisteddfod all these years later, and I encourage everyone to jump in and have a go,” Rathgeber said.
“The great thing about it is there’s a variety of categories in all the different sections and it’s for people with varying degrees of experience – for example, there’s a novice singing section for anyone who has less than 18 months’ singing experience, you don’t have to have been learning for years.
“It’s for anyone who wants to step up on stage and have a go, and feel a part of the performing arts community.
“It’s a really encouraging, beautiful, supportive atmosphere. Everyone gets a good cheer at the end of their number and receives some positive and useful written feedback from the adjudicator.”
Fostering a love of music is dear to Rathgeber’s heart.
“There are just so many different types of music out there to be explored and played with,” he said.
“There is a whole world to discover in every piece of music, and every piece of music is open to each individual’s interpretation – there’s a lot of fun to be had with that.
“There’s still a lot of music yet to be written, too, so for people to be able to develop the skills to write their own music and express their own thoughts, feelings and ideas is another great reason to learn how to get into music and know how to craft it from the inside out.
“It’s just such a fantastic means of connection to other people as well. For all the things that I’ve done in my life – learning music and understanding music from the inside out has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.
“I’ve met wonderful people through my exposure to music and I’ve got to know myself really well through all the different pieces of music that I’ve been able to immerse myself in and explore. It’s a really fantastic learning and connection tool.”
Rathgeber is currently performing in The Mousetrap, the Agatha Christie murder mystery play that is touring Australia.
After performing in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide and Perth last year, it moves on
to Darwin, Hobart and a string of regional cities including Geelong from July 4 to 7.
For more information about the Wimmera Music Eisteddfod, visit www.wimmeraeisteddfod.com.
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