Our third annual Festival of Singing was a soulful scorcher!

It was a hot day, but that didn't stop 80 members, from various branches across our 16 choirs, coming together for a day of joyful singing!

The workshop began with the incomparable Rob Shirakbari who coached us, beautifully, through a few of our songs. Now, to say we were lucky to have him is the understatement of the year! Rob is a superb musician, composer, arranger and producer, and he has worked with all of the Greats - and I mean ALL! As well as being pop/soul icon Dionne Warwick's Musical Director, he works closely with Soul Choir favourite, the sensational Rumer.

There are too many to list, but Rob has recorded and/or performed with legendary artists such as Adele, Elvis Costello, Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow, Whitney Houston, Chrissie Hynde, Ray Charles, Faith Hill, Sir Cliff Richard, Aretha Franklin, Jamie Cullum, Michael Bublé, Caro Emerald, Gladys Knight, Frank Sinatra, Queen Latifah, David Foster, Gloria Estefan, Barry Manilow, Chaka Khan, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton-John, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Mathis and Natalie Cole to name a few!

Rob was the keyboardist, arranger and music director for acclaimed composer, Burt Bacharach and this was particularly poignant when he worked on our 'Walk on By' arrangement with us, written by Bacharach for Dionne Warwick herself. He helped us find the 'rainbow' in the song, which perfectly enhanced its dynamics and meaning. Rob also treated us to a Q&A where he shared some of his experiences with the superstars he has worked with - what a humble and talented gentleman he is. It was a very special morning!

After a stifling lunch break, we got back to it (and the air-con!) with Soul Choirs' Directors, Abi Gilchrist and Ross Power. As always, they delivered a super-fun session; Ross infused the room with giggles and energy and Abi conducted a brilliantly informative vocal workshop - these two always know how to get the best out of their members!

For the remainder of the afternoon, we worked on the rest of the term's songs finding different nuances, tightening rhythms, adding lyrical texture, clarifying voice placement and more!

It was then time to put all of our hard graft into practice! We had arranged to be part of the Manor House Gardens Festival, just around the corner, where we performed everything we'd worked on - it was a fantastic end to an amazing day. Despite the heat, we came together and sang out with true Soul Choirs enthusiasm!

It's fair to say the day was a success - having the opportunity to work with such high calibre professionals is a real privilege and we love being able to offer these valuable and exciting experiences to our members!

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