Contemporary choir Some Voices – known for TV appearances on Channel 4 and last year’s ITV Royal Variety Performance – is coming to Gloucestershire, with a brand-new choir starting in Stroud next month.
The Stroud choir will be led by conductor, actor and theatre maker Sophie Winter, who has been a Some Voices leader since 2015.
Sophie recently moved to Stroud from London and fell in love with the town. She said: “Leading a Some Voices choir is the absolute best fun: the arrangements are awesome, and the vibe is really joyful. You can’t help but leave feeling uplifted at the end of each session. I am so excited to bring the Some Voices magic to the gorgeous community of Stroud – I think the combination will be pretty special.”
Rehearsals begin on 14th September on Wednesday evenings at Stroud Congregational Church Hall. New members are encouraged to try out the choir for free in a taster session and can find out more at somevoices.co.uk/stroud.
Some Voices is a non-traditional choir with a mission to be inclusive to all. There are no auditions to join the main choir, no previous experience is required, and songs are learned by ear so there is no need to read music: “Every voice is welcome at Some Voices. Singing together is a great way to make friends and de-stress at the end of a busy working day,” said Laura Howe, Musical Director of Some Voices.
Each term ends in a high-energy, professionally produced performance at a local venue. Choir members become part of a big friendly network of choirs and singers around the country, with the chance to get involved with exciting national performance opportunities.
Some Voices started in London in 2010 with a small group of singers and has grown to almost 1,000 members across Newcastle, Brighton, Cambridge, York and 12 different London locations. The choir is known for feeling “less like a choir and more like the closest you might get to being a rock star” (The Guardian) and having a “soul warming sense of community” (TimeOut).
The choir has recently been seen on Channel 4’s The Last Leg supporting the Lionesses and on ITV with Keala Settle in the 2021 Royal Variety Performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Past triumphs include recording the soundtrack for BBC One’s 2019 Christmas advert and appearing with the BBC Concert Orchestra on BBC Radio Two’s Friday Night is Music Night.
