The 54-year-old has lived locally for the past 20 years and has been passionately guiding voices as a choir leader in the Hastings community for 17 of those. She has been instrumental in forming choir groups at Wauchope Public School and Saint Columba Anglican School and has also been involved in the City of the Arts advisory committee, the Glasshouse advisory board and the Camden Haven music festival.

"My kids started at Wauchope Public School and they didn't have a choir so I volunteered to start it up," Marie said.

"Then I got a job at St Columba as a science teacher and I had the chance to start up all the choirs there too.

"At one stage, we had six student choirs and one adult choir in the high school so it was a really, really big program.

"I think the main reason it became so huge was that the kids were just so keen so I was very lucky in that I had a bunch of really talented students and they helped me to drive it."

Since leaving her teaching role at St Columba at the end of 2014, Marie has continued to be involved in the school's choir program but has enrolled in a master's degree in philosophy. The degree has a focus on music with her thesis on 'creating a model for mixed voice high school choirs'.

She has also formed and is currently leading the community choir Kala Rava, which means "low melodious sound" in Sanskrit.

Marie said the "lovely big choir" made up of 50 men and women ranging in age from early 20's through to 70 years meet every Tuesday at 7pm at the conservatorium in Port Macquarie.

"We make a lot of good noise," she said.

"We have a mixture of people who have never sung and people who are very experienced so it's a nice balance.

"I didn't want it to be too serious. I just wanted to create something that people could come and enjoy and create some good music.

"Now it's doing really well. It's a very happy place to sing in I think."

Marie's latest project is leading the Mid North Coast School of Hard Knocks choir which officially launched in Port Macquarie yesterday at the conservatorium.

It is the first time the choir has formed outside of a metropolitan area after its founder, Melbourne-based Dr Jonathon Welch AM collaborated with Port Macquarie Community College also known as Skills Link Training.

The choir is for vulnerable or marginalised people who want to come together and make music and friends.

"We are part of the 'absolutely everybody' choirs so there are about 12 of them in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and we are the first regional one," she said.

"I had heard they were thinking of starting it up so I asked Val Evans at Skills Link to be part of it as it's something I've always wanted to do."

Marie is supported in the choir by choir coordinator Katrina Humble, accompanist Miriam Lattimore and assistant Ruth Allen.

Joining the choir is free and organisers provide lunch and can even help participants with transport to the venue. For more information about the School of Hard Knocks phone 6583 7288 or visit www.schoolofhardknocks.org.au

"It's been proven that one of the most powerful things that makes people cope better if they've had lives that have damaged them is having that sense of community and belonging. Choirs like this can also become like family," she said.

"And the beautiful thing with this is that it's something so much bigger than you. It makes you feel good when you sing."

It is this very reason that Marie says she has continued to be involved with choirs for so long.

"I just love it so much. It's the thing that makes me happy," she said. "I enjoy watching people who arrive really anxious, learning how to relax and love the sound that they're making, that's the most rewarding part.

"And I also really enjoy those moments where you make incredible music and that emotional experience that you get when your part of something like this.

"Community choirs give you an amazing sense of belonging, you are challenged, they're really stimulating and your working together to create something that's beautiful.

"You don't always get that opportunity in life so I think it's very special."