CCC volunteer Candice Gurling has lived the arts since childhood — from piano at primary school to performances with the Rosa Choir. Here she shares the moments that shaped her approach to working with young people, the creative rituals that get her unstuck, and why song can break down barriers. Read on for an intimate Q&A with this Rosa Choir and Children’s Arts Group committee member in this instalment of Faces of the CCC.
Q&A
1. Describe yourself in three words.
Busy, introvert, determined
2. Tell us about your journey into working with young people. What pivotal experience shaped your approach?
Teaching brought me into contact with many young people. This is where my interest in growing and nurturing the talents of young people started.
3. If you could have any superpower for a day, what would it be and why?
I would want to be able to talk to animals because they can help us appreciate living things better.
4. What song best describes your personality?
Something Inside So Strong – I always believe that for every problem, there is a solution. Sometimes you just need to be strong to move through the obstacles.
5. Tell us about your journey into the arts?
I started playing piano at primary school, but what I really wanted to do was sing. At high school, I continued with Music as a subject. I also took some dance lessons at the EAON group, both as a child, and later as an adult. I performed in various productions as a teenager and as a young adult at the EOAN group and as part of the Gilbert and Sullivan theatre group. Presently, I am part of the Rosa Choir, which I joined in 2018. A life where I am not part of the Arts in some form or other is unimaginable to me.
6. What’s the most memorable project you’ve been part of?
The Rosa choir has been my favourite arts activity in a long time. We have performed at a variety of events and venues. It is a group that promotes diversity and acceptance. It is more than just a choir. The Rosa Choir is a community trying to unite people from all walks of life.
7. How do you get inspired when you feel stuck creatively?
I go into a deep silence. For a few days, I will think about the project that I need to do. I won’t communicate much with anyone. It is a kind of medication that awakens my creativity.
8. How do you think the arts can bring people together?
All people have feelings and experience emotions. Art is a universal way to express and communicate these feelings, even if you speak an unfamiliar language.
9. What’s one thing you wish more people knew about CCC?
I wish more people knew that the CCC has different projects, and that it is not just the choir or children’s group.
10. What do you enjoy most about working with children from different backgrounds?
It is such an honour to experience children from different backgrounds communicating and working together in harmony. It’s amazing that at first, they are apprehensive but later realise that we are all human after all.
11. What’s one piece of advice you received as a young person that still guides you?
“Every problem has a solution.” — I heard this from my high school physics teacher. But as an adult, I realise he wasn’t just talking about science. I apply this to my life, and it makes it seem like nothing is impossible.