Musician, speaker, and author Ruth Bonetti is looking forward to being back in the North West to present a confidence workshop this Sunday at Mount Isa Eisteddfod.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With --- years in music and performance, Ruth enjoys sharing her experience with budding performers of all backgrounds.
“I’m a firm believer in that old chestnut ‘we teach what we need to learn’,” Ruth said.
“I love doing that because I would say if you’d seen me as a painfully shy child you would never have believed I would later enjoy performing or speaking to people.”
In her latest book Ruth tells the story of her grandfather as a 16-year-old Finnish immigrant.
Her own story is just as fascinating, from a shy bush kid to public performance guru.
“I was painfully shy. I was so shy that I thought nobody would want to talk to me let alone listen to me, and I used to go and hide out in the bathroom,” Ruth said.
“It’s been wonderful to say to people that, the person you are now is not the person you may be in a decade, or two, three, four – because it’s a journey, we all grow through things.”.
It wasn't until touring as a musician in Europe with her husband that Ruth learned to overcome her shyness and enjoy speaking, in French, German, and Swedish.
“That was a very useful thing to get over any fear of making mistakes,” she said.
“My performance career took me out of my comfort zone of course, because when I came down from the bush I of course didn’t have much idea of what I was getting into.”
Ruth said it was a “cultural hike” to play music professional, and so she has understanding for people in rural or remote Queensland.
“I know Mount Isa is probably a big metropolis compared with Hughenden. It’s funny, all those years we had the train going past delivering mail and I never went to Mount Isa,” Ruth said.
“I really love giving back to the country, I’ve got a lot of respect for the people’s resilience and the sheer stickability, determination, hard work of the bushies.
“I appreciate the roots I have up there – it’s something that has brought a depth and richness to my life.”
The story of Ruth’s Finnish family is in her new book ‘Midnight Sun to Southern Cross’.
This Sunday Ruth is presenting two workshops from 10am to 12.20pm at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, as part of the 51st Irish Club Mount Isa Eisteddfod.
‘Habits for a Confident Performance’ is aimed at all performers including musicians, and ‘Present with a Confident Voice’ is particularly helpful for speakers and singers.
The free workshops are supported by the Mount Isa Eisteddfod Association and The Regional Arts Development Fund.
