Birmingham’s Inclusive Choir wins bid to double money in Christmas campaign
Birmingham’s ground-breaking Inclusive Choir – which already supports 20 young people with significant disabilities in the city – is planning to expand having been selected for the UK-wide Big Give Christmas match funding programme.
But its plans are dependent on it raising more than £2,000 in just one week between Tuesday, November 28 and Tuesday, December 5.
The Choir, which is free to join and attend and which runs at The Mac Arts Centre and online, is striving to raise more than £2,000 that will then be doubled by Big Give which runs match-funded campaigns for charities and special causes at key moments across the year.
Stuart Birnie, Head of The Music Service at Services For Education said: “Birmingham’s Inclusive Choir has had a huge and beneficial impact on those with profound disabilities who now have the chance to get together, perform and sing together and celebrate a passion for music and singing,”
“Our goal is to enable twice as many young people in Birmingham with significant disabilities to enjoy singing and making music together. We now need to raise funds to double the number of young people who can join and attend for free. We are hoping that big-hearted Brummies and businesses will rise to the challenge.”
Birmingham’s Inclusive Choir started in 2021. Free to join without auditions, it offers an informal way to come together and show a passion for music, rhythm and singing – with each choir member having their own way of sharing their voice.
Experienced vocal teachers and specialist practitioners from Services For Education work with members as a group and individually to build their confidence to take part. As well as singing, choir members can take part in ways that they feel comfortable including sound and music-making with instruments, movement and dance.
Birmingham Inclusive Choir has members as young as six-years old up to about 25-years old who sing a range of songs chosen by choir members including pop, popular and classics.
Stuart continued: “Our big goal is for an enlarged Choir to perform at the King’s Coronation Legacy Concert at the Mac Arts Centre on May 4, 2024. We’re hoping that this will give a huge boost to their confidence both as a group and individually.”
The Birmingham Inclusive Choir meets in person once a month and every other two weeks virtually. It is also part of the wider West Midlands Inclusive Choir which earlier this year won the ‘Excellence in SEND (Music and Drama)’ Award at the prestigious national Music and Drama Education Awards 2023.
