The Voices Foundation is giving the Nation back its voice

Hilary Finch, The Times

This is my dream come true

Yehudi Menuin

The tradition of choral singing is fundamental to the British way of life. From the male-voice choirs of the old
Welsh mining communities, through the numerous amateur choral societies which thrive in the cities of the
UK, to the sublime sound of the cathedral choirs, choral music is everywhere. But traditions need to be kept
alive if they are not to become irrelevant to today?s world ? if they lose their sense of adventure, then they also
lose their right to survive.

As a result of changes in the school curriculum in the 1970s and 1980s, singing ceased to be a part of the daily
experience of many children in the UK?s state schools. By 1990, the situation was very serious ? a generation
had never experienced the thrill of performing in a choir, and there was a risk that choral singing would die
from the roots upwards.

And then along came Suzi Digby, sparkling with inspiration and new ideas, following a period of worldwide
study of choral music techniques. Setting up The Voices Foundation in 1993, Suzi began persuading schools
that something of real value was in danger of being lost; that singing was much more than a leisure activity,
and that, through singing, children could acquire skills which would help them to become better adults.
Over the past 20 years, as a direct result of Suzi?s initiative, over a million children in schools have discovered
the joys of singing together, and some 60,000 teachers have received training in choral techniques. Singing is,
once again, seen as relevant and exciting. New choirs, for both children and adults, are springing up
everywhere, and television programmes about their beneficial influence on local communities are being
scheduled for peak-time viewing.

It is impossible to exaggerate Suzi Digby?s role in the saving of the UK?s choral tradition. The award of an OBE
in 2007 confirmed official recognition, but her true achievement is nationwide, where the sound of young
voices is once again to be heard in our schools

Trevor Ford, Chairman, Royal School of Church Music, London

Suzi’s top singing tips from BBC Songs of Praise

St George’s Bristol is delighted to announce that Suzi Digby has accepted the newly created role of Patron of Cosmos Choir – a young community choir of children aged 8 – 12 from Knowle West and district, supported and funded through St George’s education programme.

Suzi Digby, judge on the BBC’s immensely popular ‘Last Choir Standing’, is a well-known face in the world of music education, having worked internationally with children’s and adult choirs for many years. She is Founder and Principal of The Voices Foundation, the UK’s leading music education foundation that successfully tasks itself with ‘transforming children through singing’, and last year founded Vocal Futures, launched to inspire a new generation of classical music followers. Suzi was awarded an OBE in 2007 in recognition of her outstanding services to music education.

This appointment is a tremendous boost for the Cosmos Choir, in this its fourth year of existence. Directed by Bristol-based music educators Laurie Stewart and Mark Lawrence, Cosmos is living proof that singing is something we can all enjoy, be inspired by and develop through, regardless of our social, cultural or economic background. To date, over 150 young people in Knowle West and district have grown through the experience of singing in Cosmos. Last year alone the choir sang three times at St George?s, as well as at the Colston Hall (‘A World Beyond’) and Bristol’s Harbourside (‘Sing for WaterAid’), and took part in Song-Shares in Southville (South Bank Arts Trail) and in Withywood, South Bristol. Praised for the ‘fresh enthusiasm’ that comes across in its sound, Cosmos has made three recordings to date for Faber Music for the Sing Up website.

Cosmos is St George’s own small contribution to transforming children through singing, and Suzi’s endorsement of this makes us all the more determined to carry on raising the much- needed funds to enable this invaluable resource to continue for years to come.

‘The performance of the St Matthew Passion, staged by Patrick Kinmonth and conceived and conducted by Suzi Digby, was one of the most inspirational evenings I can remember. The power and theatre and passion of Bach?s music, combined some of the greatest vocalists in the world, both solo and choral, with a virtual choir of ‘Young Ambassadors’, almost all of whom were new to ?classical? music. This made for a performance that caused the hairs to rise on the back of the neck from the first bars to the great close. It was beyond wonderful to see the Young Ambassadors in the audience (watching themselves in the projected Virtual Choir video for the final chorale) overcome by a music that might have at first glance seemed irrelevant to those of us who are secular and very 21st century. But the power and the infinite emotional depths of the Bach?s masterpiece clearly inspired those singers as much as it did the mesmerised audience. If the Vocal Futures model does not provide a visionary example of how to develop the young audiences of the future, nothing will.