Welcome to Singing in the Round
Singing in the Round consists of five flourishing community choirs in Bath, Bradford on Avon and Trowbridge, Wiltshire. Everyone is welcome.
As well as meeting weekly, the choirs all come together to celebrate seasonal festivals in special places: an ancient church in winter, the old Tythe Barn in Bradford-on-Avon at Easter, and round a bonfire in summer, sharing songs with friends, family and beyond.
"The group has a wonderful energy and spirit - it feels like my family."
Singing in the Round choirs have a distinctive flavour of their own. There are no auditions, we learn songs by ear and the atmosphere is very relaxed. Singers range from those who have sung in more formal choirs, but relish the spontaneity and sheer fun of singing in this different way, to those who have never sung before. Singing a cappella, without sheet music, allows the singers to absorb the music through their whole bodies. We also work with the musicality of the song, so that the singers experience its richness, and deepen their understanding of the culture from which it has sprung.
"It is a community choir in the true sense of the word; we are not singing in a void, we are singing with our neighbour, for our neighbour and learning together."
Why sing?
Singing is fun and singing is good for you. Singers regularly report the benefits to their health. After the stress and frustrations of daily life, many leave the sessions energised and full of renewed vigour. Those with serious health conditions report that they feel a real sense of healing and comfort.
"Each session is an oasis of refreshment and renewal for me."
What Songs are Sung?
Our repertoire is particularly varied. Starting with songs from our own islands: a Seal Calling song from the Hebrides and an English Pace Egging song, we may then travel to Europe and challenge ourselves with Czech, French, Russian, Georgian or Spanish. Further south, we come to Africa to explore the rich harmonies and rhythms from South Africa and Ghana amongst others. Then there are the Americas: a Gospel number, a haunting Native American chant, or Latin song from Brazil. And finally there are popular songs from the 30s onwards, the likes of Aint misbehavin' , Dream a little dream of me or Help! You may find yourself playing around with the music too, maybe improvising, or enjoying movement and rhythm games.
At Christmas we push the boat out and tackle a piece from the classical repertoire. Over the years we have risen to the challenge of the Rachmaninov Vespers, John Tavener, Arvo Pärt and J. S. Bach.
"A wonderful range of music, stimulating, challenging and very enjoyable."
"We make music that matches the season and if we come in one day and it is windy, we will sing a song celebrating gusty days."
Building singing bridges
We build bridges with other singing communities, wherever there is the opportunity: locally with the Trowbridge Polish community , further afield with a choir from Mallorca. We have hosted the outstanding youth choir, Northern Harmony, from Vermont, USA , and held a magnificent Celebration Sing involving several hundred singers from other community choirs.
