There’s still a chance to join!

May03

If you happened to be one of the lucky ones who caught the rehearsals these past couple of weeks, you’ll know what a blast it was!

We sang Blur’s – Tender; The classic – Relight my fire; and some feel-good soul – Ain’t No Mountain. What’s not to love?

And we were blown away by how amazing everyone sounded. Some had never sung before! Very impressive.

If you missed out, don’t worry! We’re running two more taster sessions next week! Grab your diaries! We have a session Monday 9th of May at 6.15, and one Tuesday 10th of May at 7.30pm.

Join the fun – book your spot here: https://soulofthecitychoir.com/contact/

We can’t wait to see you!

Soul of the City team x

The new term is approaching!

Apr12

Our brand new Spring term starts on 25th of April! So if you’ve been thinking about joining a choir, now’s your chance!

Did you know that singing has been shown to relieve stress, stimulate the immune response and, when singing with a group, foster a sense of meaningful connection? I think we can all use a bit of that at the moment, don’t you?

We’ll be getting together once a week (or twice, if you sign up to both choirs!) to rehearse at St Mary Magdalen’s School, and at the end of it all we’ll get together for an end-of-term gig at the stunning All Saints Church.

If you’re completely new to the choir, you can sign up to a FREE taster. Monday 25th is almost fully booked, so get in quick if you want to nab a spot. Here’s the link to book: https://soulofthecitychoir.com/contact/

And if you already know you want to sign up for the full term, even better! Head to https://ti.to/soul-of-the-city-choir/monday-choir-april-term for the Monday choir, and https://ti.to/soul-of-the-city-choir/tuesday-choir-april-term for the Tuesday choir.

We can’t wait to see you for a holler!

Winter Virtual Choir Film in aid of Heads On

Jan08

We have loved taking choir online and staying connected throughout the pandemic.  Last term we were delighted to produce another virtual choir film raising awareness and money for the brilliant charity Heads On.

If you missed it you can catch it by CLICKING HERE.

If you fancy throwing some pennies in the pot to support all the amazing work Heads On do, the details are in the description below the film.

Did you catch our secret performance?

Dec05

It’s been SO HARD keeping this a secret for the last few weeks, but on 27th November Soul of the City took over The Grand Hotel’s stunning staircase in Brighton for an extra-special Christmassy flash mob.

We were invited along to put the cherry on the cake of The Grand’s Christmas lights switch-on with a surprise performance of White Winter Hymnal – and we absolutely smashed it!

Now we’re no strangers to a flash mob, having surprised the commuters at Brighton Station with a rendition of Rag’n’Bone Man’s Human back in 2017, but this was a whole new sparkly spectacular to celebrate ten whole years of Soul of the City.

There were lots of big smiles all round, and this was an amazing way to kick off our festive season.  Keep an eye out on our social media for the video coming soon!

If you didn’t catch our flash mob, hopefully we’ll be seeing you at our sold-out winter gig on 14th December – it’s going to be a good one!

Our gig has SOLD OUT!

Nov28

Don’t say we didn’t warn you! We knew that our winter gig tickets would sell like hotcakes, and they’ve just completely sold out.

It’s our 10th anniversary show, and we’ve got lots of really juicy little surprises in store for you. If you were lucky enough to snag tickets, we’ll see you on the 14th! If you missed out, keep an eye on the comments under our Facebook posts  where people MIGHT be selling a spare ticket or two. We can’t guarantee anything though, so just keep checking back regularly and keep those fingers firmly crossed!

And for those of you who will be joining us on 14th December, why not take a little peek at our rousing rendition of California Dreaming from last year’s winter gig?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVL-aHbaINk

Or if you’re already feeling a little bit festive, settle down with a cuppa and let the soothing sounds of Silent Night wash over you…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKDvSvRA0LA

 

See you at the gig!

Singing for Wellbeing

Nov21

If you couldn’t make it to Sarah Andersen’s event, Singing For Wellbeing, at Sussex University a couple of weeks ago, never fear! This video will show you what went on – and we’ve spotted quite a few of our lovely choir members in the audience too!

Click here to watch the video!

Take a look at all those big smiles when the singing starts – it says it all really doesn’t it! Even if you think you can’t sing or the idea of singing in public makes you want to hibernate, it’s undeniable that group singing is a hugely uplifting activity. We always hear our new members talk about the rush they get from singing with other people, and Sarah’s talk really highlighted that.

If you think you’re ready to give it a go, make sure you’re following us on Facebook where we’ll be sharing events for our Spring term free taster sessions in the coming weeks… so bring a friend, colleague, relative, whoever, and give it a go. We’re absolutely positive you’ll leave your first session with a massive smile on your face!

 

Tickets for our winter gig are now on sale!

Nov14
It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for – tickets for our winter gig are now on sale!
If you only come to one Soul of the City gig, this is the one you don’t want to miss! It’s our 10th
anniversary show, and we have some really special plans to celebrate. Obviously we don’t want
to spoil what we’ve got in store, but it’s going to be twinkly and magical – the perfect way to
celebrate the festive season without all the predictable old Christmas carols.
We’re performing in the beautiful All Saints Church in Hove, and it’s our choir leader Vanessa’s
absolute favourite venue to perform in – the acoustics are just STUNNING, and we’re working
hard to make sure we do justice to this iconic venue.
We’ll be supporting Together Co once again, and will be collecting for this fantastic charity at the
gig, so if you have any loose change we’d love it if you could bring it along on the night to
donate to this great cause. It’s the season of giving after all!
Tickets are already flying out the door, so we highly recommend grabbing yours ASAP to avoid
missing out. For just £10 and £8 concession (with a small online processing fee) you’ll get to see our Monday and Tuesday choirs and
our brilliant support acts – what more could you possibly want?!
Tickets are available
- now what are you waiting for?

The 10 best spooky songs for Halloween

Oct30

It’s Halloween week, and lots of us will be off out to spooktacular parties this weekend! In the spirit of the season, we’ve put together some of our favourite haunting tunes – why not put your voice to the test and belt a couple out?

Thriller

How could we write a list of Halloween songs without Thriller?! This one gets extra points because it comes with its very own dance routine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

Monster Mash

Halloween just isn’t the same without Monster Mash. It also injects a healthy dose of rock’n’roll into your party, and it’s bound to get everyone up on the dancefloor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNuVifA7DSU

I Put A Spell On You

Ready to jazz things up a bit? Then the sultry tones of Nina Simone are a must! Also, if you fancy singing along, this one is low enough to work well for male and female voices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua2k52n_Bvw

Bury A Friend

Billie Eilish’s hit isn’t necessarily a classic Halloween song, but it has the perfect sinister vibe that will keep all the ghouls and goblins bopping until the early hours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUHC9tYz8ik

Creep

“I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo, what the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here…”… otherwise known as ‘words you will never hear at SOTC’, where everyone belongs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFkzRNyygfk

Superstition

Who doesn’t love a bit of Stevie Wonder?! Get your groove on with that funky bassline – just keep an eye out for black cats trying to cross your path and cracks in the pavement…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CFuCYNx-1g

Love Potion No 9

Let’s get our rock’n’roll on again with Love Potion No 9! This one is totally underrated, but is absolutely perfect for Halloween. You might want to avoid Madame Ruth’s suspicious potion though…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rXhXLsNJL8

Black Magic Woman

If there’s ever a time to get acquainted with a black magic woman (or man), it’s spooky season – and as it’s Santana, you can put your air guitar skills to the test.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95kCv10duFw

Zombie

We did our very own SOTC version of Zombie back in Spring 2019, and we managed to strike the perfect balance between The Cranberries’ attitude and floaty siren voices (thank you sopranos)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

Spooky

Dusty Springfield’s breathy vocals may not be the first thing you associate with Halloween, but in the words of Dusty herself, ‘Just like a ghost you’ve been a-haunting my dreams, but now I know you’re not what you seem’ – and as it happens, Spooky is a super sophisticated choice for the season!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7QzxYAjgNc

 

What’s your favourite song to sing at Halloween?

 

So you think you can’t sing…

Oct23

Lots of us have bad memories of singing. Maybe it’s miming along to Christmas carols in church as a kid, grimaces from strangers when you’re singing your heart out in the car with the windows down or – god forbid – a sneaky video someone took of you hollering a power ballad at karaoke. These bad memories can leave us scared to sing in public, stuck with toe tapping and head bopping instead of really letting loose.

But bad past experiences needn’t put an end to your singing life! This article follows Paula Cocozza as she took her fear of singing in public by the horns and decided to take singing lessons. After years being part of the ‘silent choir’, she found her voice through lessons, and discovered that, contrary to ‘making a racket’ as she was told off for as a child, she actually wasn’t bad at all.

“There is no line between speech and song,” says Paula, “all speaking voices contain fragments of higher pitches, harmonics – so if there is a moment when I start to sing, I don’t notice it.”

This is something that many people discover – if you’re nervous about learning to sing, it can help to start with a song that feels more like talking. There’s a reason Don’t You Want Me Baby is such a popular karaoke song, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor is the modern queen of talk-singing. Artists like Jarvis Cocker and Damon Albarn also sound like they’re talking to a tune, rather than taking on the intricate vocal stylings of Beyoncé or Freddie Mercury. This is often a turning point where people realise that they CAN sing!

So, if you’re ready to revoke your silent choir membership and discover your voice, what could your next steps be?

  • Take baby steps. If you’re exclusively a shower singer, try singing in the garden, then in the car, then in the street…
  • Go to karaoke. This isn’t as scary as most people imagine! Bars like Lucky Voice give you and your friends a private booth, and you can control the volume of your microphone so you can ease yourself in gently
  • Bring the karaoke to you! If you can’t face singing in a bar yet, Lucky Voice also offers subscriptions to give you access to all their karaoke tracks in the comfort of your own home. Alternatively, there are always lyric videos on YouTube that you can sing along to
  • Go to an event. Take the kids along to that Frozen singalong, pop along to a Christmas carol concert or join a free community event – knowing there’s a definite end time can help you get through your first public singing experience
  • Join a choir! At SOTC, we believe that everyone can sing – and being one of many voices takes the pressure off. After a few vocal warm-ups and a few rounds of some great songs, it’ll be hard to get you to stop!

 

7 surprising health benefits of singing

Oct16

It’s absolutely no secret that singing is good for both our mental and physical health. It can help improve everything from the way we breathe to our posture and even our mood – but what are some of the other health benefits of singing?

Strengthening our immune systems

 Yes, it’s true! Popping along to choir (especially in these chilly winter months where coughs and colds are everywhere) can help keep your immune system nice and strong, helping you fight off those pesky winter illnesses. The University of Frankfurt conducted research where they discovered that singers had higher levels of antibodies in their blood after just one hour of singing – how about that for a little health benefit?!

Improving our posture

If you’ve ever tried to sing while you’re slouching, you’ll know how tricky it is. When we sing, we naturally tend to straighten our spines, open our chests and pull our shoulders back, which is much better than the lazy postural habits most of us fall into every day. Improving your posture improves your singing, as it opens up your airways and improves your breathing, and the more you sing, the better your posture will be. It’s a win-win!

Managing asthma

Singing makes you focus on controlling your breathing, and lots of people with asthma (including our very own choir leader, Vanessa) find that singing really helps manage their condition. If you have asthma, regulating your breathing can help a lot, and singing forces you to do just that. As long as you have your inhaler handy, you should be absolutely fine.

 

Reducing anxiety

One of our members, Kayleigh Tanner, wrote a few months ago about the amazing effect joining Soul of the City has had on her anxiety, and many other choir members came forward after the post was published to say that they’ve experienced the same benefits. Again, regulating your breathing can help keep anxiety and panic attacks at bay (it’s all about that breathing!), and it’s a really feel-good activity that can help lift your mood. The buzz in the room during every SOTC rehearsal is a great example!

Lowering stress levels

If you ever belt out a bit of Tina Turner in the shower, you’ll know that singing is an incredible stress reliever – so carving out some time every week where you can just let loose and have a sing is massively beneficial for your stress levels. Singing reduces cortisol (the stress hormone), and it’s a brilliant way to forget about real life for an hour or two and focus on doing something for you.

Helping with sleep

Did you know that singing is thought to help with certain sleep disorders? It helps to strengthen the throat muscles, which can help reduce snoring and sleep apnoea. If it takes you a while to nod off, singing can also increase sleepiness, so sing your little heart out if you want a good night’s sleep.

Boosting our confidence

The last one is a goodie! So many people believe they can’t sing, but after just one choir session, they quickly realise that they totally CAN! It’s a real rush when you stand up and sing for the first time, and as you improve week after week, it just feels better and better. It’s not even just about singing – it’s about learning a new skill, spending time with lots of lovely people and doing something for pure enjoyment.

Check out our shiny happy people for yourself on our YouTube channel!

 

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