Community Choir

Project overview

After lockdown, the staff at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home realised that people were nervous about socialising. This meant that patients and carers didn’t always have a social support network.

Following a successful funding application, the Paul Sartori Community Choir was launched in April 2022. Its aims were to:

• bring the community together
• raise awareness of the hospice
• raise funds for the hospice.

Initially, the choir was planned as a short-term project.

Outcomes

The choir has been very popular, with over 70 members (an average of 55 attend each weekly rehearsal). Several of the members are bereaved and many of these had a loved one who was cared for by the hospice. The social and peer support the choir provides is as important to the members as the music. The choir supports the wellbeing of hospice staff and volunteers.

What was a short term project has become permanent, and is now self-sustaining with members contributing a nominal fee to cover costs.

The choir has performed at a range of formal and informal events, including:

• the hospice’s Light up a Life ceremony
• a concert with a local art theatre show choir and Pembroke Male Voice Choir
• a sold-out Easter concert with Milford Haven Town and Junior Bands
• a joint concert with Neyland Ladies Choir
• at local churches
• at supermarkets
• at pubs.
  
   

Key facilitators

Funding from the Changemakers fund and National Lottery Award for All enabled the choir to cover its costs and to establish itself as a self-sustaining group. The choir has moved 3 times due to its growing numbers. Fortunately, one of the hospice’s trustees has a connection to the local college, and now the rehearsal venue is provided free of charge. 

The choir quickly developed its own identity, with recent funding enabling the choir to purchase polo shirts and choir members paying for fleeces. Sponsorship was secured from a local signage company who produced an A-frame board to promote the choir at events. Members pay just £2 per week which covers the cost of refreshments and choir leadership.

The choir is administered voluntarily by two members of Paul Sartori staff. The choir master is a local school teacher who has a strong family connection with the hospice and lots of musical connections in the local community.

The choir has been really popular with members, and news has spread through word of mouth as well as through local newspapers and social media.

Challenges

As the choir has grown, it takes more time to organise. To help with this, the leadership team have recruited volunteers as ‘section leaders’, who help settle in new members and serve refreshments at rehearsals. There is also a volunteer music librarian.

WhatsApp groups and mailing lists have been set up to enable the choir members to keep in touch with each other.

The Paul Sartori Community Choir will continue to have fun and enjoy singing! It is always open to new members, particularly Tenors and Basses!

Performances planned for 2024 include:

• “Light up a Life” Concert at St Davids Cathedral on Saturday 27th January
• concert at St Mary’s Church, Haverfordwest on Saturday 20th July.