Songclub N4
Donation protected
I started up a children’s community choir for young kids in the Stroud Green (N4) area of North London in September 2018.
There are very few opportunities for primary age kids (KS1) in or out of school. I felt very strongly when my own daughter started school 2yrs ago that it was such a shame there was no early years choir and this is very common. In fact outside of school there are very few choirs that take kids until age 7/8yrs old and even then cost can be prohibitive.
We parents have now been running this for 2 terms and we are in our 3rd term . It is attended by around 20 children aged 4-7 and the attendance and enthusiasm of these kids is brilliant. We have put on a little concert at the end of each term at Xmas and Easter and also sang outside a local restaurant for Xmas carols.
It is a unique group. I charge a nominal amount and if parents cannot afford it they don’t pay.
Now we are looking for funding to pay musicians and also the opportunity to bring in other musicians to do one off workshops on singing or showing the children different instruments, like for example an African drumming workshop.
The sessions are every Wednesday for 45 mins in term time and we cover lots of fun vocal and rhythmic exercises to start with and then learn a handful of songs for the end of term concert. Repertoire is varied and engaging from Ghanaian chants to Disney tunes and soul folk pop and classical music.
The children are learning to communicate with their own instrument-their voice and learning valuable skills through music like team work, communication through this wonderful universal language of music and the concept of pitch and rhythm.
Most importantly they are having a great time through music.
There is so little like this around for this age with money being no barrier for the parents. It is also a joy to watch the transformation of the children gaining confidence with their voice and to watch the parents reaction when they see the result at the end of each term.
There are very few opportunities for primary age kids (KS1) in or out of school. I felt very strongly when my own daughter started school 2yrs ago that it was such a shame there was no early years choir and this is very common. In fact outside of school there are very few choirs that take kids until age 7/8yrs old and even then cost can be prohibitive.
We parents have now been running this for 2 terms and we are in our 3rd term . It is attended by around 20 children aged 4-7 and the attendance and enthusiasm of these kids is brilliant. We have put on a little concert at the end of each term at Xmas and Easter and also sang outside a local restaurant for Xmas carols.
It is a unique group. I charge a nominal amount and if parents cannot afford it they don’t pay.
Now we are looking for funding to pay musicians and also the opportunity to bring in other musicians to do one off workshops on singing or showing the children different instruments, like for example an African drumming workshop.
The sessions are every Wednesday for 45 mins in term time and we cover lots of fun vocal and rhythmic exercises to start with and then learn a handful of songs for the end of term concert. Repertoire is varied and engaging from Ghanaian chants to Disney tunes and soul folk pop and classical music.
The children are learning to communicate with their own instrument-their voice and learning valuable skills through music like team work, communication through this wonderful universal language of music and the concept of pitch and rhythm.
Most importantly they are having a great time through music.
There is so little like this around for this age with money being no barrier for the parents. It is also a joy to watch the transformation of the children gaining confidence with their voice and to watch the parents reaction when they see the result at the end of each term.
Organiser
Jill Owen
Organiser
England
