Lorin Nicholson

www.seesharp.com.au

Small Song Sample

Shorty Ranger's signature tune "Winter Winds"

 
Lorin’s ‘visionary’ fundraiser achieves $7k
 

Guitar man: Lorin Nicholson played everything from Beethoven to the Beatles and beyond last Friday night –

and the audience couldn’t get enough of it.

From the heart: Before Aleyce Simmonds began her part of the evening she told the audience how

inspired she was by what Lorin had achieved.

With feeling: Aaron Bolton sang two songs, accompanied by The Baileys’ guitarist, Daniel Conway.
 

Handy sideman: Daniel Conway backed both Aleyce Simmonds and Aaron Bolton

on Friday night at The Pub.
 

Versatile wife and mum: Lisa Nicholson is not only a wonderful wife and mother,

she’s a great keyboard player too.
 

Lorin’s seven year old son Tom showed his true blue spirit, leading the audience in "I Am Australian".

 

Visionary fundraiser: Lorin, left, pictured with Victoria Maggs, from Vision Australia, and

Trevor (Banjo) Donaldson, Lorin’s manager (and father-in-law).
 

Family support: Lorin’s sister Melissa, who sold more raffle tickets than you could jump over, helped

enormously with the fundraiser. Pictured right is Melissa’s husband Chris (Breeze) Whitton.
 

Family act: The Nicholsons on stage – from left, Lisa, Tom, Andrew, Lorin, Harriet and Emmalyn.
 

Triple treat: Buddy Knox, Fiona Peters and singer-songwriter Darren Clarke presented three original songs,

which went down well with the audience.

Singing siblings: Harriet and Emmalyn Nicholson (Lorin and Lisa’s daughters),

did their bit on stage at The Pub.

Northeys’ night out: Robyn, Madeleine and Lara Northey, of Tamworth, were happy

to show their support for the cause.
 

Talented twosome: Ryan Sampson and Claudia Byrnes were two stars on the night who donated their
time and talents for Vision Australia.

 

Happy family: Liam, Belinda and Nicola Stanton, of Tamworth, enjoyed the show.

 

Good mates: Jude Collier and Cheryl Byrnes, were among the large crowd last Friday night.

Cheryl’s daughter, Claudia, sang three songs on the night.
 

Old friends: Lorin, right, spent some time catching up with good friends John and Maree Sleiman, of Tamworth.
 

 

VISION Australia was the big winner from Friday night’s Lorin Nicholson Family and Friends Show at The Pub in Tamworth. The organisation, which only stages one major fundraiser each year – the Vision Australia® Carols By Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne – will receive a welcome boost of around $7000 thanks to the efforts of Lorin Nicholson and his team of supporters.

Lorin, who has retinitis pigmentosa, has been legally blind since birth, and last Tuesday (April 10) set off on a tandem pushbike with good friend, John Eder, from Tamworth, bound for Port Macquarie. The pair arrived in Port a day and half later, to a mayoral reception, with some 275km of hills and dales in their wake.

Donations were given and raffle tickets were sold in both Tamworth and Port Macquarie districts, as well as an on-air auction on 2TM of an autographed Cort guitar, carrying the signatures of 17 Australian country music stars, together with CMR broadcaster, Nick Erby. The successful bidders, Debbie and Nick, from a Barraba second hand shop, offered $1850 for the guitar, which will no doubt be a significant collector’s item in years to come.

Friday night’s concert at The Pub was the culmination of a month-long fundraising and awareness campaign and was attended by hundreds of supporters and friends. In a magnificent gesture, The Pub Fishing Club gave Vision Australia representative Victoria Maggs $800, proceeds of The Pub’s regular Friday night meat and fruit tray raffles. The Pub’s owner, Bevan Douglas, handed over a $500 cheque for Vision Australia to Lorin. Patrons bought raffle tickets for the major prize of a weekend for two at Quality Sails Resort, Port Macquarie, which was won by John Burke of Tamworth. Other prize winners came from Tamworth, Barraba and Port Macquarie.

The Darren Clarke Trio, Aaron Bolton and Daniel Conway, Claudia Byrnes, John Muller and Phil Reading, Ryan Sampson and Aleyce Simmonds donated their time and talents for the cause, along with members of Lorin’s family – wife Lisa, sons Tom and Andrew, daughters Emmalyn and Harriet and father-in-law Trevor (Banjo) Donaldson, whose interactive recitation of the Man From Snowy River, brought the house down.

Lorin said he was “blown away” by the enthusiasm of the Australian country music industry for this project, and particularly those artists who had signed the guitar at the CMAA Golden Guitar Winners’ Concerts at Penrith Panthers. He also thanked Marius Els, of Artist Network, who facilitated this part of the project.

“I am so grateful to all media outlets, in Tamworth and Port Macquarie, as well as nationally, who supported his efforts on behalf of Vision Australia,” Lorin said. “The money raised by my family, friends, associates and the very generous general public will make the world of difference to the lives of blind children and their parents all over Australia.

“To all of the artists who donated their time and talents at The Pub on Friday night, a huge thank you for their love and support. I do hope to come back again very soon to Tamworth. Next time though, I think I’ll leave the bike at home.”

*Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic eye condition that causes the light-sensitive retina, located at the back of the eye, to degenerate slowly and progressively. The condition can vary greatly. While many people with RP retain limited vision throughout their lives, others will lose their sight completely.

For further information please contact Lorin Nicholson on 0423 779 400
or visit Lorin’s website, www.seesharp.com.au 
Created in Tamworth 16-4-07 by Anna Rose Media Solutions,
for and on behalf Lorin Nicholson
 

Visionary bike riders head for the coast

3-4-07-  by Anna Rose Media Solutions, for and on behalf of Lorin Nicholson.
 

A blind man riding a pushbike from Tamworth to Port Macquarie may seem like “the impossible dream” to many – but for Lorin Nicholson and John Eder – it’s all in a day’s work. Actually a day and half’s work.

Lorin, who has retinitis pigmentosa*, has been considered “legally blind” since birth, will not only achieve this dream next week. He’s actually done it before – solo!

This time around Lorin will travel on a tandem pushbike, leaving Tamworth in the early hours of Tuesday, April 10, and stop for the night at the halfway point, Gingers Creek Bush Resort.

From Gingers Creek it’s a leisurely trek down the mountain into Port Macquarie, where they will be met outside council chambers by the Port Macquarie Hastings Mayor, Councillor Rob Drew, and officially welcomed to that city.

When Lorin was a young bloke, back in 1985 he achieved this ride in two and a half days, travelling only with his father, John, in a support vehicle, for companionship. By the second day’s end, Lorin collapsed on the side of the road, exhausted, and barely able to walk, yet the next morning he got up, hopped on his bike and completed the personal challenge he’d set himself.

There was no welcoming committee to meet him that time, but this challenge is slightly different for the Brisbane-based motivational speaker and professional musician.

”This time I’m doing it for the little blind kids, and for their mums and dads, who often worry and wonder about what the future holds for their children,” Lorin said. “I’m also doing it for Vision Australia, as this fabulous organisation has been there for me and for countless other blind and vision impaired people right across Australia.
Every cent raised from this bike ride will go to them, to assist with the invaluable work they do.”

Around Tamworth raffle tickets have been on sale for the past week, with the major prize of a weekend for two at Quality Resort Sails, Port Macquarie, an attractive enticement for ticket buyers.

Other fabulous prizes donated by sponsors include a 34cm colour television, a Ricoh digital camera, dinner for two at the Hogs Breath Café (Tamworth and Port Macquarie) and more.

The winners’ names will be drawn at a concert in Tamworth at The Pub, 99 Gunnedah Road, at 8pm on Friday, April 13. This free concert is being billed the Lorin Nicholson Family and Friends Show, and will feature Lorin’s talented wife Lisa, and former Tamworth-based songbird Aleyce Simmonds, together with other artists who are donating their time and talents to the cause.

It is a free concert, but donations will be sought for Vision Australia on the night. Families are most welcome, as Lorin has a rather unique “pied piper” effect on children. For most of the year his schedule is a full one, visiting schools and presenting musical-motivational workshops, taking children and their teachers through the history of music – from Beethoven to Led Zeppelin – and beyond.

He also speaks to the youngsters about accepting others who are different – whether they have a disability, or whether “they just don’t fit in with the crowd”.

During the week leading up to the bike ride and concert, radio 2TM/92.9FM will host an on-air auction during Mal McCall’s top rating brekky program, where business houses and individuals can bid for an autographed Cort guitar.

This guitar carries the signatures of almost every major Australian country music artist, many of which were secured at the CMAA Golden Guitar Winners’ Concert series at Penrith Panthers, last week in Sydney.
 

If you would like to be part of the auction, tune in to 1287 on your AM dial. 2TM’s sister station, 92.9FM, will also present up to the minute reports on Lorin and John’s progress on their epic bike ride.
*Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic eye condition that causes the light-sensitive retina, located at the back of the eye, to degenerate slowly and progressively. The condition can vary greatly. While many people with RP retain limited vision throughout their lives, others will lose their sight completely.
If you would like to interview Lorin, please phone him on 0423 779 400, or feel free to phone Anna Rose Media Solutions on 0409 514 933 for further information.
Lorin Nicholson would like to acknowledge the fabulous support of sponsors and supporters who are helping him achieve the impossible:
The Northern Daily Leader, Tamworth; Radio 2TM/92.9FM; Cort Guitars;
The Pub; Quality Sails Resort, Port Macquarie; Gingers Creek Bush Resort; Soundy’s Retravision, Tamworth; Good Guys, Port Macquarie; Hogs Breath Café, Tamworth and Port Macquarie; Tamworth Bicycles and Anna Rose Media Solutions.
 

Man on a mission...Lorin's tandem fundraiser!

Breaking down the barriers and achieving the "impossible" might seem too hard for most of us, but it's all in a day’s work for Lorin Nicholson.
Lorin, now a Brisbane resident but raised in Tamworth, was born blind, but that has never stopped this man achieving his goals. Lorin trained in remedial therapy, is a professional musician and now runs his own travelling school program of motivational speaking interspersed with music.
"My message is that you can succeed no matter what challenges you face" says Lorin. "It's all about making Australians more accepting."
Vision Australia has helped Lorin over the years with advice, training and equipment to help him achieve his goals. Lorin's attitude to give everything a go, combined with his incredible musical talent, led him to be chosen as a performer at Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight® in 2006.
Now Lorin wishes to give something back to Vision Australia - dollars to help them provide more of their essential free services - and is cycling tandem from Tamworth to Port Macquarie on April 10 & 11 to help raise funds and awareness for Vision Australia.
Lorin leaves Tamworth early on Tuesday April 10 from outside the ABC New England Radio premises and rides to Gingers Creek Crossing via Walcha, where he is being sponsored accommodation by Gingers Creek Bush Resort. He rides on to Port Macquarie, via Wauchope, arriving at midday to be officially welcomed by the Port Macquarie Hastings Mayor, Clr, Rob Drew.
To thank the sponsors and all his supporters, Lorin is performing live in two free concerts at the end of his gruelling ride, firstly in Port Macquarie at Quality Resort Sails on April 12 and a concert in Tamworth on Friday April 13 at The Pub.
This finale concert is being billed as "The Lorin Nicholson Family and Friends show" as a number of acts, including Aleyce Simmonds, will also be donating their time and talents on the show to Vision Australia.
A Cort Guitar, signed by many artists including Troy Cassar-Daley, will be auctioned as part of this event. Many prizes can be won, including a weekend for two, plus breakfast and dinner, at Quality Resort Sails in Port Macquarie.
All proceeds from Lorin's tandem fundraiser ride and concerts are being donated directly to Vision Australia, and Lorin is seeking sponsors to help him achieve his goal.
Breaking down the barriers and achieving the "impossible" might seem too hard for most of us, but it's all in a day’s work for Lorin Nicholson.
Lorin, now a Brisbane resident but raised in Tamworth, was born blind, but that has never stopped this man achieving his goals. Lorin trained in remedial therapy, is a professional musician and now runs his own travelling school program of motivational speaking interspersed with music.
"My message is that you can succeed no matter what challenges you face" says Lorin. "It's all about making Australians more accepting."
Vision Australia has helped Lorin over the years with advice, training and equipment to help him achieve his goals. Lorin's attitude to give everything a go, combined with his incredible musical talent, led him to be chosen as a performer at Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight® in 2006.
Now Lorin wishes to give something back to Vision Australia - dollars to help them provide more of their essential free services - and is cycling tandem from Tamworth to Port Macquarie on April 10 & 11 to help raise funds and awareness for Vision Australia.
Lorin leaves Tamworth early on Tuesday April 10 from outside the ABC New England Radio premises and rides to Gingers Creek Crossing via Walcha, where he is being sponsored accommodation by Gingers Creek Bush Resort. He rides on to Port Macquarie, via Wauchope, arriving at midday to be officially welcomed by the Port Macquarie Hastings Mayor, Clr, Rob Drew.
To thank the sponsors and all his supporters, Lorin is performing live in two free concerts at the end of his gruelling ride, firstly in Port Macquarie at Quality Resort Sails on April 12 and a concert in Tamworth on Friday April 13 at The Pub.
This finale concert is being billed as "The Lorin Nicholson Family and Friends show" as a number of acts, including Aleyce Simmonds, will also be donating their time and talents on the show to Vision Australia.
A Cort Guitar, signed by many artists including Troy Cassar-Daley, will be auctioned as part of this event. Many prizes can be won, including a weekend for two, plus breakfast and dinner, at Quality Resort Sails in Port Macquarie.
All proceeds from Lorin's tandem fundraiser ride and concerts are being donated directly to Vision Australia, and Lorin is seeking sponsors to help him achieve his goal.

"I know what it is like to be blind and I am doing this for all those blind kids out there, and their Mums and Dads, who worry about what will happen to their kids. I just want them to know there is hope and that we can achieve our dreams, regardless of the challenge."
You can contact Lorin about sponsorship on 0423 779 400.

 Man who is blind rides tandem bike 280 klms from Tamworth to Port Macquarie
 Free concerts in Port Macquarie and Tamworth
 All proceeds go to Vision Australia

Combining the skills and resources of five leading blindness organisations to create one national voice, Vision Australia is committed to delivering exceptional and efficient services that open up exciting possibilities for our community.
Whether it’s reading textbooks at school, getting a job, catching a bus or playing sport, Vision Australia ensures that people who are blind or have low vision can live life to the fullest.
For more information or to support Vision Australia call 1300 84 74 66 or visit www.visionaustralia.org.au
 

 Man who is blind rides tandem bike 280 klms from Tamworth to Port Macquarie
 Free concerts in Port Macquarie and Tamworth
 All proceeds go to Vision Australia
 

Bidding opens soon for star-struck guitar

What have Gina Jeffreys, Anne Kirkpatrick, Felicity Urquhart, Beccy Cole, Joy McKean and Sara Storer done the same as Troy Cassar-Daley, Nick Erby, James Blundell, The Wolverines, Adam Harvey, Greg Champion, Michael Fix, John Williamson, Graeme Connors, and Carter & Carter?

They have all willingly added their autograph to a hand-crafted Cort Guitar, in preparation for its auction this week on 2TM to raise money for Vision Australia. The auction is part of a fundraising and awareness campaign led by Lorin Nicholson – a Tamworth-born professional musician and motivational speaker with retinitis pigmentosa (RP)*.

Through contacts in the music industry, Lorin had the guitar sent to Penrith Panthers, where Sydney booking agent Marius Els ensured it was autographed by all but a handful of Australia’s country music elite, who were taking part in the CMAA Golden Guitar Winners’ Concert series.

Throughout the week, from the start of Lorin’s epic tandem bike ride from Tamworth to Port Macquarie on Tuesday at 6.30am, 2TM’s Mal McCall will accept bids on air during his breakfast program.
The highest bidder can claim their prize at The Pub, on Friday, April 13, during the Lorin Nicholson Family and Friends concert. All funds raised from the bike ride, auction and concert will be donated to Vision Australia.
Vision Australia is a living partnership between people who are blind, sighted or have low vision. It is an organisation that is committed to ensuring people who are blind or have low vision will have access to and fully participate in every part of life they choose.

*Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic eye condition that causes the light-sensitive retina, located at the back of the eye, to degenerate slowly and progressively. The condition can vary greatly. While many people with RP retain limited vision throughout their lives, others will lose their sight completely.

 

Just when Lorin Nicholson thought his year was winding down, a telephone call from the Nine TV network changed all that – in a big way.

Last week Lorin was asked to send a copy of his new CD, Only You, which led to an offer the mild-mannered guitarist couldn’t refuse.

Lorin has been invited to appear at the Vision Australia Carols by Candlelight® at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne on Christmas Eve and broadcast to the nation on Channel Nine.

He will play alongside Australian Idol runner-up 2005 Anthony Callea, who will lead the singing.

“I was blown away, and when you get to connect with people like John Foreman, who is the musical director of the event, it makes you realise what fine company you’re in,” Lorin said.

Lorin, who has been legally blind since birth, has retinitis pigmentosa, which means his vision is narrowed or blurred to the stage where he can only distinguish large objects.

He visits schools right around the country, performing his music and speaking to thousands of students about his experiences, and challenging them to accept people who are different in some way.

Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight, staged annually in Melbourne’s Kings Domain Park, attracts an audience of more than 10,000 people.

For the past 69 years, Vision Australia has been the beneficiary of this wonderful event, which has an estimated television viewing audience of 2.5 million people.

Australia's most magical event - Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight® has been going for the past 69 years. All proceeds from the event support Vision Australia’s services for children who are blind or vision impaired.

“I don’t know if the people from Vision Australia pulled some strings to get me there, but I’m absolutely delighted to be doing the gig,” Lorin said.

“I’ve had a really hectic year, just coming off the road after seven months travelling around the country and thought I’d get a good break over Christmas, but I don’t mind interrupting that in the least for this important event.”
If you would like to know more about Lorin Nicholson, visit his website, www.seesharp.com.au  or phone (07) 4667 1022.

Prepared in Tamworth 7-12-06 by Anna Rose, for and on behalf of Lorin Nicholson
 

Lorin Nicholson is pleased to

announce the release of his new CD

"Only You"

The new album contains 12 instrumental tracks, including a number of popular covers along with five songs Lorin has written himself. This CD has been 18 months in the making and already people are saying that it was well worth the wait, with everything from a smooth soulful ballad to a full-on Latin Jam, and then Lorin has topped the whole album off with a wonderful new upbeat version of the ever popular Classical Gas.

This is an album not to be missed!

Track List

Nothing Else matters

No Strings Attached

Little Strings

Only You

Norwegian Wood

You are so Beautiful

Day Break

As The Deer

Winter Winds

Everyone's Talkin'

Classical Gas

Now and Forever

 

"Only You" Released  July 2006 catalogue #LJN2006CD

 

"Only You" will be distributed through One Stop Entertainment and is available in all ABC Centres, independent music retailers or on line at www.seesharp.com.au or email Trevor Donaldson  trevor@seesharp.com.au

"Unwind" a relaxing guitar odyssey released December 2001 Catalogue # LJN2004CD

"Summer Rain" Released December 2003 Catalogue # LJN2003CD

***********

Lorin Nicholson has been legally blind since birth. 

This has resulted in a lifetime of both challenges and successes in sport, music, business and education.

Lorin is an HSC and college graduate, has studied a variety of musical styles including country, folk, rock and blues, and has 8th Grade AMEB classical guitar training.

He began his working career in the health industry as a Remedial Therapist where he successfully ran his own private practise in Tamworth for eight years.

Early in 2003 Loren's music interests turned professional. He gained an accreditation with Education Queensland and the NSW Department of Education and Training, as a musician and public speaker.  His program has also been endorsed by the Royal Blind Foundation in Queensland and Vision Australia.

Lorin's emerging career has already attracted considerable attention from media, with many ranking him up with the nation's great guitarists.

Following the success of Lorin's first CD "Unwind", he then ventured into song writing which lead to the release of his most recent CD Summer Rain.  After much inquiry from the media and general public, Lorin has just finished recording his third CD "Only You" which is to be officially released in July 2006.  The new CD will contain many new arrangements of popular classics along with a number of new songs Lorin has written himself.

Over the past 12 months Loren and his manager Trevor Donaldson have toured extensively throughout Australia, performing in hundreds of gigs from the City to the outback, captivating thousands of fans of all ages.  Lorin's Performances. His Experiences, musical talents, and thoughts on social justice issues have educated, entertained, inspired and motivated all. 

The NSW Department of Education and Training has recognized Lorin's outstanding contribution to the touring school performance program by presenting him with a "Frater Award" which he has won for the last two years in a row.

In January 2005 Lorin was named as a finalist in the Australian Country Music Golden Guitar Awards instrumental section with his own song "Summer Rain".

Early this year Lorin returned from his highly successful tour to the USA, which resulted in such comments as: "I've just witnessed the best school performance I've ever seen in my whole 35 years of teaching".

With the release of Lorin's new CD "Only You", he is now looking forward to his upcoming Australian tour and hes return visit to the USA in early 2007.

 

Click here Anna Rose's Notes December 2006

Click here Anna Rose's Notes August 2006

 Print out and have the memories