Episode 15 - Why sing in a choir?

What’s the appeal, or even the magic of choral singing? How has it endured as a tradition? Do they have a social or cultural value? Is it a declining tradition, are choirs in crisis?

We hope to return to these and other questions in future episodes. Here though we start with singers. We were pleasantly surprised how many friends of the podcast are involved in, and have a passion for choirs! So we invited a cross-section, who very kindly agreed to join us and talk a little about what they love about choirs.

Anna Berry is an artist and lifelong singer. Her favourite choral flavour is small consort-singing and renaissance polyphony, and she’s sung in most of the cathedrals in the UK over the years. She also sings folk and jazz.

Kevin Yuill is a retired academic. He has sung tenor - in Durham Choral Society, Ushaw Choir, and St Edmund's Consort for about 20 years. He has sung everything from Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium to Sting's Fields of Gold - but draws the line at Queen. No. Queen. Ever.

Josephine Margaret is a primary school teacher. She enjoys amateur dramatics and attends the theatre as much as she can. She attends a choir in Cambridge called Out of the Shadows who perform twice a year.

Thomas Deichmann is Communications manager, and a former journalist and author. His passion for choirs started early when he watched his father singing. When Thomas was 40, he started singing in a men’s choir in Frankfurt, become president of the singing club and actually saved it from extinction. Currently he sings in the small men’s choir of his Catholic church accompanying services once a month. And he has a very special passion for singing in Frankfurts biggest "wild choir" - that is on the terraces of Eintracht Frankfurt FC.

Ann Oliver is a former journalist, magazine editor and businesswoman, who has been singing in choirs since she was six. She is currently a member of the London Concord Singers and the Kodaly Choir of London. She says she’s an alto by default.

Niall Crowley is a member of Islington Choral Society.