Each week we host forum discussions and lectures led by our team of tutors and special guests on a wide range of choral topics. All webinars take place on Saturdays from 11:00 - 12:30.
To book: just email us saying which webinar(s) you'd like to attend and we will send you the Zoom login details. Numbers are limited and bookings are taken on a 'first come, first served' basis.
Presenter: Jeremy Haneman Co-director of Together Productions and Community Chorus Director, Royal Opera House
Guests: Hamsa Mounif, Mike Roberts, composer and Head of Electronic Music & Music Technology at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Content: What wider role can choirs play in society? Can choirs be vehicles for social change? How can a choir authentically engage in a community and make a difference in the world? The attitude of people around the world to refugees and migrants is one that concerns many of us. Are we opening and welcoming to those who have lost their homes and lives or are we cynical and think they should go back where they came from?
This webinar will look at the role that choral singing can play in opening hearts and minds to people from other cultures by exploring a ground-breaking project called Singing Our Lives that has been running since 2016. Initially started in London UK, the project has been growing every year and won international acclaim.
Singing Our Lives, in partnership with the United Nations Migration Agency IOM (International Organization for Migration), has reached thousands of people and brought them together in workshops and concerts to create new songs in conjunction with refugees and migrants. In the process we have collected many very moving accounts of how the project has been a life-changing experience for both the participants and audiences.
This webinar will:
- Detail the documented principles and methodology behind Singing Our Lives including exploring collaborative community songwriting
- Show footage of both workshops and concerts
- Introduce the brand new repertoire of six songs for choirs created out of the project over the last few years (all copyright free!
- Look at how choirs can be powerful ways to create community, increase diversity and create a safe haven for those who have been displaced
- Invite discussion around the themes of the project
We gratefully acknowledge the support of Arts Council England Emergency Response Fund