Soul Choirs presents 'Festival of Singing' 2024!

Soul Choirs is proud to present our second, annual 'Festival of Singing'!

This all day event is open to Soul Choir members only as we will be working on the songs being sung during our Summer Festival Term. As well as attending the day in full, (which we recommend, where possible) we are also offering the chance to attend either the morning or afternoon session should you wish.

Morning Session - Ensemble Singing with Clare Wheeler

The day will begin with the wonderful Clare who, after a thorough and fun warm-up, will be exploring ensemble singing, tuning, phrasing, vocal technique etc. She comes from a classical music and jazz background with a wealth of experience teaching and leading Gospel, Symphonic, Jazz and Classical Chamber Choirs. As well as being a solo artist, composer and arranger in her own right, she has also been a member of The Grammy Award winning group, The Swingles. She has also performed with many artists including Rumer, Jamie Cullum and Labyrinth. Read more about this amazing artist below - we are very lucky to have her!

Afternoon Session - Mass Rehearsal with Abi and Ross

Take part in this mass rehearsal with our very own Directors, the inspirational Abi Gilchrist and Ross Power. This session will comprise singing all of the term's songs and getting them performance ready for our exciting upcoming Summer events! Experience a more tailored rehearsal, homing in on dynamics and delivery - bringing maximum Soul Choir energy and uplifting joy to our audiences!

10am Registration

10:30 - 12:30pm Morning Session with Clare

12:30 - 1:45pm Lunch (There is a lovely park and Sainsbury's nearby so do bring a picnic blanket!)

1:45 - 4pm Afternoon Session with Abi and Ross (there will be a tea break mid session)

Please wear comfortable clothes (choir t-shirts would be fab if you have them) and remember to bring water. There is free street parking on surrounding roads.

*PLEASE NOTE - THIS EVENT IS NON-REFUNDABLE

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BOOK TICKETS HERE

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Clare Wheeler - With a background in both Classical music and Jazz, Clare toured with The Swingles for 11 years, and is now embarking on other musical ventures. Growing up in Kenya, she has sung in African Gospel Choirs, as well as Gospel Choirs in UK, Jazz Vocal Ensembles, Classical Chamber Choirs, Symphonic Choirs and of course The Swingles. She is a solo jazz singer, improviser, composer and arranger, as well as a workshop leader and educator.

Clare taught music theory and harmony at the Academy of Contemporary Music before joining 5 time Grammy winning vocal group The Swingles in 2007. She performed with the group, writing music and making albums for eleven years, having the chance to sing with artists such as Rumer, Jamie Cullum and Labrinth, as well as performing in some of the world’s most prestigious music venues and working with legendary conductors.

She has been a guest host of BBC Radio 2’s show The Choir, as well as arranger and vocal coach on the BBC One show Pitch Battle in 2017, working in the final with vocal group Scot Soul and soul legend Chaka Khan.

As a singer Clare performs all over the world, as a soloist, in choirs and vocal ensembles, singing Early Music, Jazz, Gospel, Contemporary Classical and Pop, following her love of music from across all genres, from singing backing vocals for Jacob Collier’s Prom Performance in 2018 with the Metropol Jazz Orkester to brand new original tri-lingual, tri-genre setting of Te Deum by John Featherstone across Europe.

Clare writes prolifically for vocal and instrumental ensembles, runs workshops and masterclasses, as well as adjudicating vocal competitions around the world. In September 2019 she joined the staff of the Jazz Department of Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she is Faculty Chair of Jazz Voice, teaches improvisation, aural and transcription, vocal jazz and directs the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. She is passionate about empowering singers to achieve their potential within solo or ensemble contexts.

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