The People’s Show Choir expands with two new singing groups in long-term plan to survive arts funding cuts

The public’s growing appetite for singing is seeing The People’s Show Choir expand further this autumn and proving a lifeline for the charity’s long-term survival. The music community organisation, which is part of The People’s Orchestra(TPO) charity family, has tripled its membership over the past three years and is now launching two new People’s Show Choirs in the West Midlands and Wales this September.

The continuous growth is good news for the long-term prospects of The People’s Show Choir(TPSC) and TPO amid a backdrop of sustained cuts to funding for the arts and community grants.

Keen singers have already been signing up in droves for the new choirs for Walsall in the Black Country and Cardiff, but there are still more places for anyone keen to experience the social, health and musical benefits of singing together at a rehearsal once a week.

It takes the total of Show Choirs it runs nationwide up to 21. The new choirs add to existing groups under their TPSC banner in various corners of the UK – the Scottish Highlands to York, Birmingham to London and the South West at Weston-super-Mare.

Chris Weber, who will be leading the new Walsall branch of The People’s Show Choir, said that the latest choirs come after three years of continued growth for the music organisation.

“Grant funding has become increasingly more difficult to get as there is less and less of it available,” explained Chris, who is TPO’s Community Engagement Manager. “We’re seeing big organisations nationally that always got grant funding having their budgets cut and we’re not immune to that.

“We’ve grown massively in the past three years and tripled the size of our membership. A decision was made at the top six years ago that The People’s Show Choir expansion was the way forward for us.

“To continue doing our amazing charity work, we do need to be in a financially sustainable position, and we are well on the road to becoming fully self-sustained.

“As part of that expansion, we are launching choirs in two new areas where there’s a need for them in the third week of September – in Cardiff and Walsall.

“Walsall, where I’ll be, is a district that has a lack of groups for the arts and singing and so we’re looking forward to working with the community there to try and improve things.”

Arts and culture organisations have faced funding cuts in recent years due to a fall in central government grants, budget cuts to Arts Council England(ACE) and less money available from local authorities that are struggling to balance the books. The issue is also exacerbated by rising inflation affecting the amount organisations receive in real terms. The funding crisis has hit community groups and charities along with museums, theatres and orchestras, from the Welsh National Opera to City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra(CBSO).

The Musicians’ Union warned that a downward funding trend had seen grant-in-aid and lottery money to the arts fall in real terms by £178 million between 2010 and 2023. The House of Lords Library also reported on the impact to the cultural sector in November last year, stating that grant-in-aid funding for UK arts and cultural organisations fell 18% between 2010 and 2023.

It added that during 2023–24, 32% of museums saw their funding from local authorities decrease or stop entirely compared to the previous financial year.

The Campaign for the Arts and the University of Warwick published a report last year which examined the state of the arts in the UK since 2010. It claimed that the UK has one of the lowest levels of government spending on culture among European nations and was one of the small minority of countries to reduce total culture spending per person between 2010 and 2022.

Chris explained what new singers can expect from the choirs: “Starting a new choir is a special experience as everyone is in a room where no-one knows each other, so they are full of apprehension.

“The first weeks aren’t a rehearsal but a chance to learn all about your voice first and foremost. It’s a way of finding out that singing and fun go hand in hand.

“Some will turn up saying they’ve already been in a choir and know their voice and where it belongs whereas some will have never sung before and have no idea. The key is not to push people into any particular route.

“We’ll start to do some singing and people then start to feel a pull towards where their voice is in the choir. It’s an interesting process as members find their voice and singing in a choir like ours has so many positive benefits from mental health to reducing loneliness and isolation.

“I want as many people as possible to leave that rehearsal room thinking ‘wow’!”

The new Walsall People’s Show Choir will meet at Alumwell Resource Centre, 323 Wolverhampton Road, Walsall, every Thursday during term time from 7pm to 8.30pm from September 18. The new Cardiff People’s Show Choir will meet at Bethel Baptist Church Hall in Penlline Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff, on Tuesdays during term time from 7.30pm to 9pm. Sign up or find out more here.

The People’s Orchestra is a fascinating charity that runs musical community groups to help more people reignite their passion for music and feel the benefit of that. There’s also The People’s Show Choir, along with The Rusty Player’s Orchestra and The People’s Big Band.

Separate to that, it uses money raised to help people get back into work or receive added support through employment programmes, work experience schemes and a benefits advice line. Read more on its many worthy projects here.

See all The People’s Show Choir groups here including when they meet to rehearse during term time. Free taster sessions are available to give them a go before you decide to join.