Jessie Vintila
Jessie Vintila comes from a long line of musicians and music teachers, and grew up performing with her mother and grandfather in the folk festival scene of Western Australia. A love of connecting with other cultures through music was also a family passion. She studied voice at Perth Modern School, where she was trained in the invaluable Hungarian Kodaly hand sign method. Jessie went on to study jazz at the WA Conservatorium of Music. At 18 she started performing her own music and also began to direct her first choir, in a role which was to become her life's passion.
As a young adult Jessie pursued her performing career, moved to the very creative Northern New South Wales region, and completed a Certificate 4 in Music Business and a Certificate 4 in Small Business Management, as well as teaching music privately, in schools, and to groups of seniors and people with disabilities.
By 2013 she'd left full time performing behind and was directing four Raise the Roof Choirs, a thriving, singing community in Northern NSW, as well as regular singing workshops across Australia and New Zealand. The concept for Sing the Camino was born as a way to bring together her passions for musical travel, bushwalking, and group singing.
Up until 2019, along with Sing the Camino's co-founder Emma Royle, Jessie hosted around 250 fellow lovers of walking and singing on these sumptuous small-group tours through rural northern Spain on the famous Camino Frances. She found brilliant musicians and folklorists to bring local songs and stories to share in intimate evenings with the groups. Both avid food and wine lovers, Jessie and Emma took great care curating menus of the best of local Galician cuisine. The tours were so loved by the participants, many were returning for more, so they designed a second Sing the Camino tour, on the lesser known Camino Portuguese, which heads north towards Santiago de Compostela from Barcelos, Portugal.
After travel became possible again in 2023, Jessie re-started the tours, now with excellent local Galician guide Rafa García Hernández.
Jessie’s talent and skill lies in balancing the joy of singing, improvising and setting your voice free, with a commitment to musical excellence and a great feel for rhythm. With a growing collection of wonderful Spanish, Galician and Portuguese songs in her repertoire, Jessie also creates her own exciting and uplifting choral arrangements.
As a young adult Jessie pursued her performing career, moved to the very creative Northern New South Wales region, and completed a Certificate 4 in Music Business and a Certificate 4 in Small Business Management, as well as teaching music privately, in schools, and to groups of seniors and people with disabilities.
By 2013 she'd left full time performing behind and was directing four Raise the Roof Choirs, a thriving, singing community in Northern NSW, as well as regular singing workshops across Australia and New Zealand. The concept for Sing the Camino was born as a way to bring together her passions for musical travel, bushwalking, and group singing.
Up until 2019, along with Sing the Camino's co-founder Emma Royle, Jessie hosted around 250 fellow lovers of walking and singing on these sumptuous small-group tours through rural northern Spain on the famous Camino Frances. She found brilliant musicians and folklorists to bring local songs and stories to share in intimate evenings with the groups. Both avid food and wine lovers, Jessie and Emma took great care curating menus of the best of local Galician cuisine. The tours were so loved by the participants, many were returning for more, so they designed a second Sing the Camino tour, on the lesser known Camino Portuguese, which heads north towards Santiago de Compostela from Barcelos, Portugal.
After travel became possible again in 2023, Jessie re-started the tours, now with excellent local Galician guide Rafa García Hernández.
Jessie’s talent and skill lies in balancing the joy of singing, improvising and setting your voice free, with a commitment to musical excellence and a great feel for rhythm. With a growing collection of wonderful Spanish, Galician and Portuguese songs in her repertoire, Jessie also creates her own exciting and uplifting choral arrangements.
"With her sunny disposition, her approachability and her love for song and teaching, Jessie creates a wonderful sound and cohesiveness in her choirs and workshops. She is musically diligent, vocally gifted and a very clear and encouraging director - and fun to work with."
TONY BACKHOUSE
TONY BACKHOUSE
Rafa García Hernández
Rafael García Hernández, born in A Coruña on the north coast of Galicia, Spain, is a nature lover and a musician. He dedicated his studies to biology, with a Masters in aquaculture.
Growing up in the Scouts, Rafa found his passion for nature, survival and hiking, and still works as a volunteer Scout leader, sharing his skills and passion with children and young people.
His love for music and guitar began at an early age and this motivated him to form his own band with which he has toured performing shows and festivals in Spain and Portugal.
In 2022 he finished his English studies obtaining the highest Spanish certification and is currently studying Japanese. In 2023 he joined the Sing The Camino team as guide and driver.
In his free time, he likes to travel and hike, having visited countries such as Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland and Japan.
Growing up in the Scouts, Rafa found his passion for nature, survival and hiking, and still works as a volunteer Scout leader, sharing his skills and passion with children and young people.
His love for music and guitar began at an early age and this motivated him to form his own band with which he has toured performing shows and festivals in Spain and Portugal.
In 2022 he finished his English studies obtaining the highest Spanish certification and is currently studying Japanese. In 2023 he joined the Sing The Camino team as guide and driver.
In his free time, he likes to travel and hike, having visited countries such as Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland and Japan.