Singing for Starters

Singing for Starters is a training choir established in 1996 by Harrow Choral Society. It was the brainchild of HCS Director of Music Simon Williams, who won a special Innovation award from BT to fund its start up. The aim is to enable people who have not sung before, or who are returning to singing after a break, to experience the enjoyment of making music with a group of like-minded enthusiasts.

Hilary Musgrave leads the group. She is a very experienced and well respected professional singer and music teacher with a unique talent for engaging the inexperienced and uncertain in music. The tuition is condensed into a fairly intensive, one-year course offering an excellent grounding in choral singing, including reading music and singing technique. Hilary teaches rhythm and movement as well as how to use the voice and rudiments of musical notation. Participants sing in unison, in parts and in rounds. Along the way they master a number of works: typically these include pieces of traditional choral music, spirituals, hymns, songs from the shows, folk songs, and carols. The music is fun and the accent is on having a go, and not being concerned if mistakes are made.

The conductor of the main choir, Simon Williams, joins the sessions on occasion and Singing for Starters also perform to the main choir three times each year, generally to considerable acclaim and to both sides' great enjoyment.

At the end of the course participants may decide to audition for the main choir, or to join Harrow Harmony, or to find their own preferred singing activity. For those interested, the course includes help preparing for an audition, with individual mock auditions to boost confidence.

Please contact Hilary on 020 8423 5114 for further details.

Why not give it a whirl?

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