Rekindled friendships and men bucking the trend at new Cardiff choir
Cardiff’s new The People’s Show Choir(TPSC) has brought surprising results with teenage friends reunited and a swathe of male recruits. Choir leader Jo Leighton reveals what is unfolding at the second TPSC to launch in Wales.
Every choir and musical group within The People’s Orchestra(TPO) family has its own character with a different make-up of members. Within its first month, the new Cardiff People’s Show Choir has developed with its own unique persona.
For while many choirs find that numbers of women often outnumber men, the Cardiff singing group has bucked that trend. Since the friendly choir launched on September 16, more men have been turning up for the weekly rehearsals at Bethel Baptist Church Hall.
“Cardiff is going well,” she added. “We have the strange issue of having more men than sopranos, but I’m not complaining.
“Usually, it’s quite hard to get men involved, but there’s a good crowd for this Cardiff choir, which is great for me.”
Men and singing in choirs
The male recruits are a god-send for Jo as the issue of men shying away from mixed choirs has been discussed and researched for years. Although crowds of men will sing loudly while in the stands at a football or rugby match, it has been harder in general to convince them to sing elsewhere in a community choir.
Some have argued that males can be more self-conscious about singing in front of strangers compared to women, who often are willing to join choirs for the social benefits and to ‘have a go’.
Others have put forward suggestions that men are turned off by the thought of learning songs they feel are not relevant to their life or interests and that adding pop and rock music or movie themes to rehearsals can help.
The benefits of singing reported by researchers range from helping to reduce social isolation to ease the effects of dementia for all genders. Yet, a specific study on the perceived impact of singing for men living with cancer highlighted some interesting findings.
Researchers noted the positive effect on these men’s social connections to others, feelings of fulfilment and how it enhanced their wellbeing. You can read the full study findings at the Royal College of Music’s website here.
It’s not something that Jo is having to worry about with her new choir, especially as it is in a country famous for its all-male choirs and strong connection to singing.
On top of that, the new Cardiff choir has also been surprisingly nostalgic for Jo. Not only is the venue somewhere she knows well from her teenage years but one of the new recruits turned out to be someone she hadn’t seen for decades.
“I used to attend the youth club that ran there when I was a teenager,” explained Jo. “Even better, someone I knew from that has now joined the choir!”
That’s allowed for quite a reunion, years later when the carefree adventures of youth have been replaced by jobs and parenthood.
“They are a lovely bunch of people and when I look round in the break, no one is left out.”
That camaraderie and generosity of spirit is the atmosphere that Jo aimed to create. When promoting the new Cardiff choir, she had always emphasised that it was about having a welcoming, warm, community feel, where people of all singing abilities could bond, enjoy music and socialise.
New members are always welcome so it’s never too late to turn up or find out about taster sessions.
Christmas concerts
The Cardiff choir is only the second of its kind by The People’s Show Choir in Wales and Jo also manages the national charity’s choir for Newport. Both are rehearsing avidly for joint Christmas concerts they will be performing in south Wales.
“Both choirs have enjoyed learning Feliz Navidad, and have taken on The Muppets Christmas Carol medley, which isn’t straightforward, but they are doing great,” added Jo.
“We have been asking to sing at Belle Vue Park for their Christmas Market on December 7, which everyone is really looking forward to.”
The Welsh choirs are also building up to a festive concert in Cardiff together with the Rusty Players’ orchestras for Barry Island and Carmarthen. It takes place at the renowned Dora Stoutzker Hall on December 20.
It’s quite an introduction to performing for the Cardiff show choir new starters as they will be singing in the 400-seater venue in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama by the end of the year.
Tickets for that special Christmas concert called Something Magical – Wrapped Up are available online priced from £15 to £21.50. The gig is at 4pm on Saturday December 20 See more here.
How to get involved with the choirs
It’s not too late for anyone who likes the sound of singing in either the Newport of Cardiff choirs as they can join at any time. Men, women and even families of all ages are welcome.
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 including free taster sessions to see if you like it.
The People’s Show Choir for Newport meets for weekly rehearsals at Stow Park Community Centre in Brynhyfryd Road, Newport, every Wednesday in term time from 7.45pm to 9.15pm.
