In conversation

Average at Best: A Memoir From the Creator of Pub Choir | Astrid Jorgensen

Astrid Jorgensen is on a mission to teach the world to sing. But she’s not promising to make anybody better at singing – she simply wants people to feel less ashamed of whatever voice they have.

By its very nature, ‘best’ is rare and elusive: you’re not going to get much of it in life. And I sure don’t want to miss out on deeply experiencing the fullness of my one precious existence, searching for the sliver of ‘best’.

Average At Best is a powerful, funny, and deeply honest memoir about embracing mediocrity if you want to get anything done. As the creator of Pub Choir® – a global phenomenon that unites complete strangers to connect, laugh, and make beautiful music – Astrid takes you behind the curtain as she unflinchingly stares down her dizzying highs, her crushing lows, and everything in between.

Astrid has performed on stages around the world, rubbed shoulders with Prime Ministers and celebrities, and has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to work together in literal harmony. Along the way, she low-key became the best at something, while sometimes feeling the worst. Is that … balance?

From almost becoming a nun (seriously) to committing unspeakable crimes against a chip packet, this joyful, inspired debut traverses the divide between confidence and doubt, performance and authenticity. Because most things happen between the extremes. This is an imperfect perfectionist’s account of how all of it counts in the end.

Astrid Jorgensen OAM is a choral conductor, composer, entertainer – and now author – who believes that everybody can sing: not well, but literally. Founder and director of Pub Choir ® and its online adaptation Couch Choir, Astrid is a global leader in communal, accessible music-making. Astrid has delivered her live, improvised comedy music lessons to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Her work has been praised by the likes of Mariah Carey, Kate Bush, KISS, Radiohead and Sir Barry Gibb. Astrid’s ability to enchant audiences and guide untrained singers to musical greatness has featured in international news outlets including BBC World News, The New York Times, Vogue Magazine and NPR as well as on TV shows including Australian Story, Australia’s Biggest Singalong, Spicks and Specks, and The Project. 

Astrid will be in conversation with Jane Longhust. Jane is an award winning actor, broadcaster, voice artist and popular presenter of events big and small.

Join Astrid and Jane at the Afterword Cafe.