Photo credit: Hackney Empire community choir
Singing at the Royal Albert Hall or during the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in 2012 is no mean feat, but it is something members of the Hackney Empire community choir have had to get used to.
Since the choir began in 2010, the group has accompanied Hackney-born Leona Lewis on stage at Radio 1’s Big Weekend to perform her hit single Run, and they were most recently seen at the Southbank Centre belting out “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves” in celebration of International Women’s Day.
But their star-studded performances were not always part of the plan. The choir was initially started by the television actress and Hackney resident Sharon D. Clarke and Joseph Roberts, former director of the East London Gospel Choir, to offer adults a light-hearted community activity.
“I always wanted to run a choir,” says Ms Clarke. “I had been approached to do a choir with West End people, but I know they all know how to sing. Singing is not work, it’s such joy, and I wanted to bring that to a community.”
“I had never envisaged any concerts; I thought we’d be doing Christmas carols in Hackney. I love the way they have grown.”
A variety of backgrounds
The Hackney choir meets every Friday evening at the Hackney Empire, and attracts people from across the borough. One member works at the United Nations, another is a producer for Channel 4 and one female singer, from St Lucia is a kindergarten teacher.
“The professions vary wildly and we have members who are retired or others who have come from abroad,” says Rasheeda Nalumoso who coordinates the choir. “I think it’s healthy that it’s varied, every new member injects new blood.”
She notes, however, that every member is equal when they sing.
“The choir is a leveller. It doesn’t matter what your job is, it’s very accessible.”
One reason for that may be down to the choir’s no audition policy; anyone can come and sing with the choir – whatever their ability.
“I find it worrying that some community choirs are audition only,” says Mr Roberts. “We’re non-audition, so when they come they know they are not going to be judged. They feel very stable because everyone in there has a common purpose which is to actually spread the joy of singing.”
“You’re never made to feel that you can’t do it,” says Kate Leys, a freelance producer. “The choir rule is that you sing it wrong and strong, better to go for it. That just gives you so much confidence.”
Although it took Ms Leys more than a year to pluck up the courage to attend a choir session, she now sees the group as a firm part of her life.
“Both of my kids are on the autistic spectrum and I work freelance, it’s total bedlam here at home,” she says. “But you feel great as soon as you get there. It’s not like anything else in my life.
“I don’t think I could give it up now. Someone said to me casually that we wouldn’t meet for six months. It wasn’t true but I cried!”
Good for the mind
The wellbeing side of the choir is noted by everyone involved and local doctors in Hackney even “prescribe” singing with the group as a remedy to both physical and mental health conditions via a programme called iCare.
According to the mental health charity Mind, one in four people find that plugging into music on their way to work helped them to destress, while a study published in 2011 found that listening to music can help get rid of a bad mood.
Hackney Empire reports that four of its current 20 members were referred through the NHS, but that many have felt the benefits for common ailments like asthma.
Mr Roberts recalls a moment where a woman bought her husband, Terry, who was suffering with Alzheimer’s to the choir. As he had been a saxophonist, she hoped that joining the choir would help him reconnect with the music.
“He remembered the songs and my name,” says Mr Roberts. “His wife couldn’t understand.”
“It’s like an outreach programme for vulnerable adults,” he says. “People improve their confidence and it helps them to come out of themselves. It’s a holistic programme for me.”
As Ms Leys says: “You go there and you make something amazing. We’re a community. You never stop laughing all the time.”
Stoke Newington reporter for The Hackney Post!