By Andy Hirst

Colne Valley Male Voice Choir has a resolution for 2023 … get more males singing.

So it’s set up a new project called Let All Men Sing – or LAMS for short.

It will run for just two months and is aimed at boys and men of all ages so could be a great thing for boys, their dads and even grandads to do together.

It’s an eight-week course that costs a registration fee of just £10 per person and is run by Colne Valley Male Voice Choir musical director Thom Meredith and accompanist Chris Pulleyn who are both accomplished singers.

The practice sessions are on Thursday evenings from 6.30pm to 8pm at Slaithwaite Civic Hall, starting on January 19 and finishing on March 23.

The group will then perform a concert at 2pm on Sunday, March 26, at St James’ Church in Slaithwaite.

Thom Meredith

Thom said: “The course is designed for those who have not sung before but would like to give it a go, those who have not sung for a while and want to start again or those who would just like to make some new friends.

“Anyone who sings knows how good it is for you. It helps your breathing and posture, keeps your mind sharp and improves confidence and communication. Some GPs even prescribe singing nowadays as it’s so good for people’s physical and mental health.

“We all know that joining a choir isn’t for everyone – the commitment, the audition, the fear of being the worst singer in the room are all intimidating so we wanted to try something new, a choir for people who don’t want to join a choir. There is no commitment, no audition and absolutely no judgement. This is for people who just want to find their voice.”

Thom added: “We’ll see how this first one goes but it may be the group will want to do it every year as January, February and March are traditionally times when it’s dark, cold and people tend to feel a bit down.”

Chris Pulleyn

The songs will be fun to sing such as Viva La Vida by Coldplay and Best Day Of My Life by American Authors but the group itself will be able to decide what it wants to sing once it gets up and running.

Colne Valley Male Voice Choir celebrated the start of its centenary year in May 2022 and the course is being funded by the choir’s centenary fund to get more people involved in music which is why just the £10 registration fee is needed.

People are advised to sign up as soon as possible as places are limited.

To find out more and join up go to https://www.letallmensing.co.uk/

* Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging and copywriting. Copyright Andy Hirst.