Singing is crucial in a child’s development. It can improve memory, language skills, critical thinking and can help build collaborative skills amongst many other things. The aim of our Vocalise! community engagement project is to inspire our local London communities through sharing the joy of singing. So far, our Vocalise! programme has enriched the lives of over 5,000 children from a diverse range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
We are proud to work in partnership with the Tri-Borough Hub to deliver this crucial programme.
Our Vocalise! programme takes place in schools in the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea.
The workshops we run in these schools give many children their very first experience of hearing a choir in person, and in the Vocalise! programme the children have a huge amount of contact time with our singers who are singing in schools throughout the year. The Bach Choir is present at a really large number of rehearsals every year with each of our Vocalise! school partners.
In our programme, the children don’t just listen – we sing together. The work we do in these singing workshops culminates in two concerts every year. Our winter concert gives the children an opportunity to sing in front of their parents and with the other schools taking part and it’s also the first time they meet David Hill MBE, our Musical Director. He’s been known to allow the children up on stage to conduct the choir and their fellow schools on some occasions!
Our summer concert last took place at The Grand Junction. This concert gives the children a unique opportunity to sing at one of London’s top venues with David Hill MBE and The Bach Choir.
Singing in schools is crucial for so many reasons. We asked some top composers and David Hill MBE why they think singing in schools is important.
Here’s what they had to say…
Our Vocalise! summer concerts are open for anyone to attend, and tickets are priced affordably to ensure that a wide range of people are able to experience what Vocalise! is all about.
Our Vocalise! programme costs a lot to run, and the help of Friends and Circles members goes a very long way in helping us to spread the joy of singing. You can find out more about the benefits to becoming a Friend or Circles member below.
Make a donation to support Vocalise! today – your donations will pay for the venue hire for our summer and winter concerts, scores for the children to sing from and much more.
Music is proven to spark emotional memories for people living with dementia, and sharing the experience of music can amplify this effect. Sadly not every care home is able to facilitate group singing workshops independently, which is why in 2019 we ran a series of workshops in which we shared the joy of singing at care homes in our local community. We sang songs from artists such as Elvis Presley alongside Handel’s Hallelujah chorus, and received a lot of positive feedback from participants.
We ran a third series of Vocalise! for People with Dementia Workshops in June and July 2024 at Silk Court Care Home, which culminated in a celebratory sharing session where members of The Bach Choir and participants from Silk Court sang together in front of their friends and families.
The Arts Award is open to anyone up to 25 years old who is interested in being an artist or arts leader. It’s a brilliant way to boost your CV with a recognised qualification.
We can offer a number of opportunities to those working towards their Arts Award within our Vocalise! programme. To find out more about how we can help you, please contact our Community Engagement Administrator, Josie Cowley via email here. You can find out more about the Arts Award on the Arts Award website below.