Bradford Voices Community Choir
Bradford Voices meets every week in term time in Saltaire, Bradford. We welcome anybody who wants to sing. The songs we sing are wide ranging and accessible to everybody, often including songs of protest and peace. Our energetic leader, Ana Hayrabedian, uses Natural Voice methods and encourages a variety of approaches to different sorts of music. We believe that singing is everyone’s birthright, regardless of musical experience or ability. We often sing at events in the local area, including the annual Peace Fair and seasonal events. There is a great sense of community, and we get together for social events and an annual workshop weekend event which is often held in the Yorkshire Dales. The choir has a long history of inclusivity and is open to anybody, young or old, or in between, who likes to sing.
Ben Rhydding Community Choir
Ben Rhydding Community Choir is a Natural Voice choir – we welcome all voices and celebrate the voices we are born with. The choir was started in 2011 by MD Keely Hodgson to support Ilkley-based charity, Give A Child A Hope, with strong links to a school community in Uganda. We meet one Saturday morning a month for a lively and thoughtful workshop-style session, learning songs by ear, and using learning tracks at home between sessions. Some choir members meet to sing in smaller groups run by Keely as well. Our singers come from all the way along the Wharfe Valley: Ben Rhydding, Ilkley, Burley in Wharfedale, Menston, Guiseley and Otley. We come together to sing songs of hope, joy, peace and positive action; to share the sense of well-being through singing; to foster friendships and support our local communities. A group of us took part in Street Choirs Festival 2024, for the first time, in Sheffield and we’re aiming to bring more choir members along to our nearby city of Bradford, the City of Culture in 2025.
Bridging Borders
Bridging Borders is a combination of two community choirs – Silsden Singers and Settle Voices, which are based in two different counties. Silsden Singers are at the north of West Yorkshire and Settle Voices are in North Yorkshire. We often perform together under the direction of Janet Russell, who has been working with both choirs for more than 20 years. We love to sing songs with beautiful melodies and meaningful lyrics, which touch the heart and feed the brain! Some of us have been attending Street Choirs Festivals for as long as the choirs have been running – we are feisty veterans who sing like spring chickens. Or spring larks!
Bradford Friendship Choir
Bradford Friendship Choir (BFC) was founded in 2015 and welcomes everyone especially refugees, people seeking sanctuary (asylum) and their friends. BFC is a joyful singing sanctuary where diversity is celebrated in a friendly and safe space. Our membership has included over the years people from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Zimbabwe, Congo Republic, Pakistan and other countries as well as residents from diverse backgrounds. Our songs are from around the world, often singing in two or three parts in different languages including Arabic, Farsi, English and Zulu. We are guided by our inspirational musical director Alice Phelps and our assistant musical director Furaha Mussanzi who joined us this year; this is in addition to other musical artists who join us at different times. We are proud to work in partnership with Bradford Festival Choral Society with our shared commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion. We enjoy working together as choirs to make a positive contribution to the cultural life of our city.
