Marlborough Community Choir begins again this week after their summer break and welcomes new members to drop in and sing with them at St. Mary’s Church Hall on Wednesdays from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
The choir was formed by Vanessa Lafaye in 2010 with the aim of offering a relaxed and friendly approach to singing. Participants need no previous experience of singing, or an ability to read music. There are no auditions and no solos. Pop, folk, gospel and world music are taught by ear – in three or four part harmony.
Before her death from cancer earlier this year, Vanessa Lafaye had approached her friends and colleagues in the Natural Voice Network, Kate Rowe and Vicky Sweeney, and asked them if they could keep the choir going.
Kate Rowe told marlborough.news: “We offered to be interim leaders from April until the summer. The choir has fifty members, men and women of all ages. We welcome anyone. We are completely inclusive, anyone can come any week. Why not try us for a free taster session?”
Kate and Vicky are now the permanent leaders of the choir. They are passionate about the benefits singing can bring to health and well-being: “We’re continuing to offer what Vanessa offered: a less formal approach and lots of singing for fun. I’ve been asked so many times – can I come but I can’t sing, and yet what a beautiful sound we make.”
“The ethos of the Natural Voice Network is that singing is our birthright. It’s about celebrating the voice you were born with, improving confidence and tunefulness rather than trying to train a voice to an ideal of perfection. Singing for the sheer joy of it.”
Although Marlborough Community Choir are not primarily a performance choir they have sung at many different community events such as the Jazz Festival and Christmas Lights Switch On. They have raised over £4,000 for the GWH Brighter Futures Radiotherapy Appeal.
On Saturday, November 25 the choir will be performing at Brighter Futures Christmas Fayre in Swindon and on Friday November 30 at Marlborough’s Christmas lights Switch On.
In 2012 the choir was awarded the prestigious Waits Badge by then Town Mayor Edwina Fogg, in recognition of their services to community music. Waits Badges were traditionally given to bands of Elizabethan court minstrels.
Marlborough Community Choir rehearse only in school term time. Fees are £8 per session at the door or £7 per session payable in advance – which includes refreshments and song sheets.
For further information: www.mcc.singtastic.co.uk or email kate526@btinternet.com or call Vicky Sweeney 07593 833943.