T H E B AROS S A MAG | 41
>> Cathy and Pete Koch
Pete Koch is far from shy
and retiring.
Give him a snazzy car or a stage
in the spotlight and this Tanunda
father of two is in his element
- he is the Barossa’s very own
Greatest Showman.
And it seems the sparkle, glitz
and glamour of the entertainment
world has rubbed off on the next
generation,with daughters, Tahnee
and Demi now also sharing the
applause with their father in
a trio that is fast becoming a
show stopper.
“We’ve actually got a piece that
we do from the Greatest Showman,
A Million Dreams,” says Peter.
Listening to the girls singing
in perfect harmony whilst Pete
accompanies them on grand
piano under the chandeliers in
their opulent living room, you can’t
help but wonder if the Hollywood
blockbuster and its theme song
they are performing, reminds
Pete of his own life.
“I feel like it could be me,
it’s probably my alter ego!”
laughs Pete.
“In the movie, there are
similarities to how I think
about things, definitely.”
Pete is referring to the challenges
he faced when, at 21 years of age,
he fulfilled his vision of starting
Barossa Music Centre, the multi-
award winning family business he
ran for 28 years.
“That dream of him [Hugh
Jackman] running his circus even
though other people didn’t believe
in it... I hit a lot of opposition all
the way in doing what I did with
the shop too, it wasn’t always the
easiest thing to get off the ground.
There were a lot of people trying
to put me off.
“I believed so strongly in it. I think
that is where my passion comes
from. It was incredibly successful
for a very long time and I’m really
proud of it.”
Pete says “it broke his heart”
when he and his wife Cath decided
to close Barossa Music Centre and
bid farewell to the 300 students in
its teaching school.
It was here the now 51 year
old was able to create his own
“Million Dreams,” first inspired
by his forefathers who were all
blessed with the music gene.
“My grandfather on my mum’s
side, Bruno Fechner was a great
musician, he was a church organist
and conductor... he did a lot of the
choir training around the place and
Grandma (Ruby) used to sing
as well.
“I guess that’s where my interest
in music first started. Seeing him
playing the organ, I thought oh,
wow! I reckon I could do that.
“So, the folks bought an organ one
day when I was ten. I didn’t know
what I was doing but I was playing
a song and they thought heck,
we’d better get him some lessons.”
Pete still plays at Gnadenberg
Lutheran Church once a month,
continuing a long family tradition.
“I’ve always done that and Cath
sings with me each time as well.”
It’s this musical link to his strong
faith that allowed Pete to get
through the toughest of times,
particularly when his father,
Dennis died on Christmas Eve
following a car crash.
“It was my first year of business
and he was delivering an organ
to Kapunda...He supported me in
my music all the way through and
encouraged me, particularly the
business side of things.”
Whilst some may have caved
in from grief, Pete stepped up
to make his father proud.
“It was kind of ‘do or die’. I had
to make it work.”
The business was blossoming
until exactly five years later when
history almost repeated itself. Pete
survived an horrific car crash with
startling similarities to his father’s.
“It was the same thing basically...
It was Christmas Eve as well.
“It was pretty bad, I got a punctured
lung and lost half a lung, smashed
my leg up pretty bad. I was out of
work for six months and in high
dependency for four weeks. Cath
ran the business.”
Today, with the business and all its
stories now a distant memory, Pete
can now focus on his own music,
instead of facilitating it
for everyone else.
“I play for a men’s group once
a month. I call it ‘Sing Thing’
but they don’t like that name!”
he laughs. “Tom Ryan, John Angas
and Ray Goodwin to name a few….
about nine guys that get together
on the first Monday of every
month and sing songs.”
A bloke called “Crafty” is
the musical director and Pete
accompanies the group on keys.
“It’s basically just a cheese and wine
night! But, it keeps my hand in and
I get to play all sorts of different
styles of music through that group.”