Six choirs from across the Harrogate district and beyond will be joining forces – and voices – next weekend to perform together for the very first time.
The Harrogate Community Choir Festival, at Harrogate Theatre on Saturday, March 18, will be hosted by the Stray Notes Choir and originated from an idea from the choir’s music director, Liz Linfoot.
She said:
“After a difficult couple of years when choirs were unable to rehearse together and weekly Zoom rehearsals were the norm, Harrogate choirs are once again thriving. This festival is intended as a celebration of singing, and the joy which comes from being part of a choir community.”
The Harrogate Community Choir Festival will feature six local community choirs showcasing some of their favourite songs in a variety of different styles. They are: the Stray Notes, Harrogate Male Voice Choir, Knot Another Choir, Love Pop Choir, Rock Choir, and the Skipton Choir.
Each choir will perform a set of four or five songs and the evening will culminate in a final song with all the choirs and the audience singing together.
Liz added:
“The benefits of singing as part of a group are wide-ranging and scientifically proven, including supporting mental and physical health and building community.
“From shower soloists to music-reading experienced choristers, and from rock to classical music, there is a warm welcome for everyone at a choir in Harrogate.”
The choirs will be raising funds for Wellspring Therapy and Training, this year’s chosen charity of The Stray Notes Choir. Based in Starbeck, Wellspring provides affordable psychological support to people in distress and promotes good mental health through training and education.
The Harrogate Community Choir Festival will be held at Harrogate Theatre at 7pm on Saturday, March 18. Tickets for the event cost £10 (children: £5) and are available online from Harrogate Theatre.
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Harrogate choir’s ‘fabulous’ Edinburgh Fringe performance
A choir from Harrogate has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for the first time, just three years after it was formed.
Sixty members of The Stray Notes travelled to the famous festival to give two performances in historic venues.
They performed in the early afternoon on Sunday at St Giles’s Cathedral on the Royal Mile, before moving on to Canongate Kirk later on.
Choir director Liz Linfoot said:
“It was really fabulous. We were excited, but we didn’t know what to expect.
“The two venues were beautiful. St Giles’s was a really big audience and they were so positive – we got some lovely feedback.
“Then Canongate Kirk was a bit smaller and felt very different, but again the acoustics were beautiful.”
The choir performed a wide variety of music, from a Bon Jovi medley to gospel and choral songs. They finished the concerts with Hey Jude, which got the audiences joining in, and One Day More from Les Miserables.
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The performances were the most prestigious yet for the choir, which formed in September 2019 but was unable to give concerts during the covid pandemic.
Since then, members have been able to travel to perform in Manchester and Liverpool, and are looking forward to getting on the road more in the future. Liz said:
“The choir just love going to difference places together – it’s a really sociable group.
“The idea of the Fringe was a suggestion from a choir member. We try to give them the opportunity to make suggestions so everyone feels like it’s their choir.
“We went up early so we had time for a meal out together and even a silent disco! Some people saw some shows and others just wandered around the city.”
The Stray Notes will be performing in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens on Sunday, September 4 from 2pm, before its autumn term begins that week.
Liz said it welcomes new members and it particularly keen to hear from anyone with a lower voice. It is offering the first term’s membership free to tenor and bass singers.
Members do not need to be able to read music and previous experience in a choir is not necessary. if two singers join from the same household, the second gets their membership half price.