♩♪♫♮ Change the World in Song ♩♪♫♮
Welcome to the webpage for Change the World in Song.
We hope you are inspired to come and sing with us. The words to the songs we sing are on the "The Songs" page along with downloadable sound tracks and links to video clips of the songs.
You can email us via the "Contact Us" page which also gives details of where we meet.
Who we are
Change the World in Song is a friendly, open access, non-auditioning Community Choir, which welcomes members from all communities across Belfast and beyond. Written music is sometimes available, but all songs are taught by ear. There is no expectation that people can read music or have previous experience. Our main aim is to sing and have fun!
The group’s name reflects the flavour of many (but by no means all) of the songs we sing: songs from around the world that promote peace, freedom, justice and care for the planet. We sing in harmony and draw on song traditions from across the globe.
We meet on Thursdays from 7-9pm at Ballynafeigh Community Centre, Ormeau Road.
New members are welcome to a free taster session before they commit to joining.
£5 to £7.50 per night, depending on income
(This is self-selecting, recognising, for example, that some people in work are less well off than some retired people on good pensions.)
Payment is made into the Bank Account through BACS, and it is useful if payment is made in blocks.
It is a bit like an electronic Honesty Box, and we think it works for us
Those ineligible for benefits, or who are otherwise unable to pay can join for less or for free.
We have a written constitution which outlines our aims and values- see information page.
As well as weekly sessions, we have full day or weekend workshops with Kate or other leaders once or twice a year, and have access to other one-off events and singing opportunities.
Term dates: New members welcome at any time, but the first session of term is especially good!
We have two sessions left before Easter- 23rd and 30th March
Dates for the Spring:
20/04/23 to 25/05/23
Dates for June
08/06/23 to 22/06/23 (tbc)
And often we have one-off events in the summer, including social events and Singing walks.
If you register with Kate, she will keep you informed of what is happening
Give us a try!
Kate Fletcher has been facilitating ‘Change the World in Song‘ since 2004, as well as other singing groups and choirs in Belfast, and formerly in Sheffield. Her approach has been very much influenced by Frankie Armstrong and the Natural Voice Network, of which she is a member. www.naturalvoice.net
Kate is aware that there are many who were told to mime at school, or lost confidence in their own ability along the way. For her, is not about how good we are, but about our right to enjoy song, and experience the joy, connectedness and sometimes catharsis that can come from singing in a group. She often quotes from Frankie Armstrong ‘If you are singing a different note to me, you are singing a harmony’! There are many cultures around the world where people don’t ask who can sing or who can’t- they just do it! We have lost a lot of that connectedness, and can learn so much from their songs. Like any skill, we get better the more we do it- and Kate is committed to the group remaining open access and non-auditioning.
How can we make it better?
If there is anything that we can do or provide to help make this webpage more useful to you, we would really like to know. So please do email us about it via the Contact Us page.
