Sing High and Low

Ever caught yourself singing in the shower?
Think you might be half decent?
Scared that all people in choirs are weirdos?

If you answer yes to the above, you’ll want to know all about East Dulwich’s newest choir.

Hot on the tail of BBC 1’s recent show Last Choir Standing, local singing enthusiast Vicky Goode came up with the idea of starting up a local choir of her own.

Vicky says, “None of the choirs I’ve ever been have been perfect for me – either the people, the location or the music they sang. So I decided to start my own choir.”

She posted an advert on the popular East Dulwich Forum and waited for a response. She didn’t have to wait long and soon had a mighty list of potential singers. What won people over was the informal and modern style she was proposing.

She says, “You don’t have to be a great singer to enjoy singing with other people. As long as you can sing roughly in tune and hold a line, then you’re in. There are no auditions to get into this choir.

There’s no Messiah or requiems here. There are plenty of other choirs for that and good luck to them. We’re singing something more modern and the kind of music we like. I describe it as a fine line between trendy and cheesy.”

I dropped in to their second rehearsal to hear the choir and meet some of the singers. What came across very strongly was that this choir have fun. Most people in the choir don’t know anybody else there – they just responded to an interesting post on the Internet.

Singers pay their small fee each week to take part. For that they get room hire (at the Magnolia on Lordship Lane), sheet music and the services of an expert Musical Director.

Matthew Knowles is the man in charge of getting sound out of this choir. He’s clearly a hugely experienced singer and teacher and is buzzing with enthusiasm. He contributes greatly to the upbeat vibe.

Concentration is all on Matthew during the rehearsal. It was great to watch him explain musical and technical singing jargon in a way that made sense to both experienced singers and complete novices. So, although the focus is on fun and having a good time, this isn’t a haphazard operation. They sound great, they have a great attitude and they are all committed to it.

The only problem this group faces right now is an over-subscription of women. They didn’t want the choir to grow too big, too quickly, so have limited the numbers. If anyone wants to start an all-women’s choir in the area, Vicky has a waiting list of 35 willing female voices! In the meantime, the choir could do with more men, so if you’re a tenor, baritone or bass and interested in taking part (and meeting lots of lovely ladies) then send an email to Vicky: vicky@itsagreenthing.biz.

There’s no name for the group as yet, but the members of the choir have been making suggestions and they are voting on it soon.

I spoke to a few people at the last rehearsal, to find out why they’d come along to the choir and what they thought of it.

“I’d not really sung since school. I saw the advert on the EDF and thought it sounded like fun. It’s something different to do on a Monday evening. I’m going to try and get some of my male friends to come along. They’re interested in singing and I’m sure they’re very good, but they’re not convinced yet.”
Jessica, Denmark Hill

“I sang in the choir at school and enjoyed it very much, but I was kicked out when my voice broke. I’ve sung in a local men’s choir for a few years – we mostly sing choral or church music. But when I heard of this I thought it sounded interesting. What I really like about this is it’s different. It’s fun. There’s a good vibe here. People are coming together to sing and to have a good time.”
Richard, East Dulwich

Everyone seems to be having a great time. I might join myself.

Images: thanks to loosepunctuation and clockworkgrue on flickr, both with CCL