By Arthur Gorrie
There are no shortcuts in life, according to Murray Mandel, and he should know.
Profoundly deaf since birth, Murray has overcome all odds to become a professional musician, visiting Gympie this week to raise money for The Smith Family (and to bring the joy of music to shoppers at Gympie Central).
He will be performing there on Friday 11 November and Saturday 12 November from 10am to 4pm.
He said donations will go directly from donors to The Smith Family.
A hospital microbiologist for 34 years and volunteer Tai Chi instructor for two years longer than that, Murray hit the road with his guitar after his retirement 14 years ago.
It all began, he says, during a visit to Mildura.
“A local family invited me for dinner and one bloke saw my guitar and invited me to play in his restaurant.
“I told him I could only play one piece,“ he said.
“He told me to learn some more and come back.
“So, for 12 months every single night I would practice for four to seven hours, after working as a cleaner in a backpackers’ hostel all day.
“For three months I played twice a week and went up to Cairns, where I played a total of six times a week in three restaurants.
Professional restaurant gigs keep him in fuel and food for his self-funded volunteer work, now mostly for The Smith Family, a charity aimed at helping young Australians overcome difficult circumstances through education.
“Last year, I was living in Port Macquarie for 12 months after assisting desperate farmers/orchardists (picking oranges at Griffith and blueberries at Coffs Harbour, while Covic lockdowns kept the backpacker workforce away).
He had already performed at four major shopping centres in Port Macquarie, one in Taree and one in Kempsey, when the big shopping centre charity tour came into his mind.
In one three-year period, he did 409 performances in 156 shopping centres, raising just over $71,000 for Lifeline.
The performances were promoted by a planned public awareness campaign, with 92 newspaper and online stories, 52 radio interviews and 13 mentions on TV local evening news.“
“The Smith Family is a vital Australian charity organisation and is a very good cause indeed.
“I always believe that every child, whether they are disadvantaged or not, (should) have good education for them to succeed.“
During the first three months of his current tour, he did 56 performances in 16 large shopping centres through north-west NSW and in Queensland at Warwick and Toowoomba – raising $10,142 so far, in donations made directly by his audience members to the charity.
“The Smith Family is an independent charity helping disadvantaged Australian children and young people to get the most out of their education, so they can create better futures for themselves.
“I consider it a privilege to help.
“My goal is to reach out to as many people as possible about the importance of The Smith Family
“I hope that passers-by will enjoy my music at the same time,“ he said.
