BIG HARMONY GLOUCESTER

Big Harmony is a series of singing days run alongside two other wonderful song leaders, Renee Berkhout and Kirsty Abraham. All are welcome to these wonderful workshops held in the gorgeous surroundings of St Mary DeCrypt. We run these about twice a year and songs are always varied and uplifting.

We teach everything by ear and with three leaders we get into three part harmony very quickly. Renee and Kirsty and I love planning and delivering these workshops for the heart of the community that I live in! Young people are welcome and there are tickets to suit a variety of budgets.

We aim at being as inclusive as we can be, carefully considering how we communicate with participants and ensuring we always invite feedback so that we can adjust and devlop the model each time.

A large group of people gathered inside a historic church, participating in a choir or singing event, with church artwork and stained glass windows visible in the background.
Women and men gathered in a church, with some sitting and some standing, while a woman with curly red hair gestures as she speaks. The room features stained glass windows and banners hanging on the wall.
Poster for a cappella concert called Big Harmony Gloucester. Shows a group of women singing and laughing. Event details: Sunday 2nd November, 2pm to 5pm, at St Mary DeCrypt, hosted by the Natural Voice Network. Tickets costing £15, £20, or £25, available at tinyurl.com/57x6c7tb. The poster has autumn leaves at the top and a blue background.
Flyer for a musical event called Big Harmony Gloucester, featuring a harmony singing day at St Mary DeCrypt on Sunday, May 10th from 1:30 to 5 pm. The flyer has yellow and green background sections with illustrations of a bird, a frog, and musical notes, and includes a photo showing people singing and conducting, along with a QR code and ticket pricing information.
Flyer for a harmony singing event by Big Harmony Gloucester on Saturday, June 8th, from 2 pm to 5 pm, at St Mary De Crypt church. Features photos of several women singing with their names labeled: Kirsty Abraham, Renee Berkout, and Sorrel Wilde. The flyer promotes a welcoming choir led by experienced leaders, with all songs taught by ear, no singing experience needed. Ticket prices are £15, £20, and £25 on a sliding scale, available via tinyurl.com/mv8w5hdu.

What Happens at Big Harmony?

A Big Harmony day starts with a gentle warm up and introduction to the space. We will then learn and sing a simple song before getting stuck into a bigger, more challenging song.

Renee, Kirsty and myself each take a part per song so that each part is learning from one person and you have our dedicated focus for that song. We swap parts for each song so that you get to experience each song leaders teaching style.

As we go, we support each other if we get muddled (which most certainly happens to us choir leaders!) and make decisions as we go about how to develop a song, when to get real quiet or sing up to the gorgeous celing at St Marys!

We have a decent tea break at half time with the cafe open for refreshments and time to chat with your co-singers or with us.

After the break we will usually sing two or three more songs, we pack a lot in to this little haf day workshop, with three of us we learn quickly!

Once we have learnt all the songs we head into the very back part of the church to sing more closely, mostly standing and huddled under the beautiful windows!