BIO
Who I am
My name is Stacy-Jane Etal, I am a Darug Aboriginal woman from the Cabrogal (Liverpool) clan.
I have sung with school and community choirs most of my life as well as being a poet. Only a few years ago I was encourage to combine these two passions and start composing songs that invoked my Aboriganl culture and my desire to tell my Darug story.
Music experience
Since the time I could speak I have put my words to music. I sang in my primary school and high school choirs, as well in church performances. I have sung in Community Choirs in the Hawkesbury, Penrith and Springwood areas.
I have also sung with the Sydney Philomonia Choir.
I started out doing solo performances through being asked to perform Welcome to Country at various events.
I wrote my first song I am a Darug Woman six years ago in response to many people saying the Darug people no longer existed or that we are the Eora nation. ( Eora is simply the Darug word for people of this place)
Since then I have written seven more songs:
Sorry Day
Warami Darug Nura
The Old Ones Still Speak
Warada Darug Dyin
Guyung Yarragul
Yanna Darug Nura (Children’s Song)
Warami Yanu
I have also had the pleasure of co–writing a song,Buriyalla Burramatta with Noongar ICI composer Elizabeth Sheppard.
I am currently studying music performance at Eora TAFE.
I have also recently been engaged by the Cumberland and Parramatta councils to teach Darug culture and language through song to children in their electorates.
Other Information
Please help!
I recorded my first album, Buriyalla Darug Nura, 8 original songs at Keynote Studio, Auburn on 26/9/18!
Sadly this recording was then taken and misrepresented by an individual who is claiming to be the composer of my works. Since I am both the writer of the lyrics and the music to my songs this has resulted in a copyright dispute. Which means my works can not legally be distributed or published anywhere! However, it seems it may have been. So I ask please if anyone has received copy of a cd or any songs written or recorded by me in any form but especially as a musical score, please contact me!
Event Organiser
Another skill I have is in Event organising. I have run many successful events over the years including: Hawkesbury NAIDOC concerts, Sorry Day Events, the Deerubbin Choir Festival, Singing on Deerubbin Shores Workshop Weekend, Parramatta East Public School NAIDOC day.
Announce coming events
Singing on Deerubbin Shores will be happening again on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd February 2020 in Richmond NSW. Go to my upcoming events page for more details.
Display real testimonials
Review by Elizabeth Sheppard,
Warm congratulations to singer songwriter Stacy Etal, a talented young trail blazer for Darug Aboriginal cultural revival, on her recent website launch! Stacy’s sung Darug Welcome to Country and Darug Aboriginal language songs were featured at 2018 Burramatta NAIDOC, and are scheduled for performance at many school and community events across Sydney in coming months. Stacy’s Darug music is strongly supported by the passing of the NSW Aboriginal Languages Bill 2017, which requires the reintroduction of previously threatened NSW Aboriginal languages (as revived by NSW Aboriginal Affairs Department teams and Independent Schools teams in collaboration with respected Darug Aboriginal musicians such as Aunty Jacinta Tobin, Aunty Judith Joyce) into all NSW Schools. Stacy is a skilled Darug Aboriginal guitarist and singer with a confident command of sung Darug language, and a growing repertoire of traditional Darug Aboriginal songs. She is a direct descendant of the Cabrogal Darug clan, with Australian Aboriginal genealogy impeccably researched, proven and recorded by her mother, Cabrogal Darug Aboriginal Elder Aunty Judith Joyce.
As the lyrics of one of Stacy’s songs say,
“they say we all died out, but I live and breathe and talk.”