As we come to the end of the first full calendar year for The Creative Choir Leader and The Inspire Club, it seems a good time to look back and reflect on our progress and achievements.
So, here is my 2021 review!
The Creative Choir Leader Group
This year The Creative Choir Leader Facebook Group has grown from 430 members to over 900 through 2021! The group supports a range of choir and singing group leaders from schools, workplaces and community settings. It’s fantastic to have such a variety and wealth of choirs and experience to draw upon and learn from.
The group is certainly an engaged hub of activity, enjoying over 70 posts every month, mainly from the members asking questions and starting discussions.
I’d like to give a special thanks to our regular weekend contributor, Kari Olsen Porthouse, founder of Liberty Singers, who has delighted us with her fun weekly ‘Nosey Saturday’ posts.
In 2021, The CCL facilitated 3 online events including our Inspire Takeover Weekend, Choir Leader Coaching Week and an Inspire Online Showcase evening.
I was privileged to have the opportunity to interview and listen to over 20 choir leaders share their stories.
We were also thrilled to have Debbie Warren, founder of Keep Calm and Keep Singing, lead a fun zoom Sea Shanty Workshop, as a part of Coaching Week.
The Inspire Club
Our online membership, The Inspire Club has gone from strength to strength, supporting over 70 community choir and singing group leaders from across the world including Australia, Spain, Ireland and UK.
The membership supports community choir and singing group leaders to plan, lead and grow choirs with resources, community support and online training. In 2021, I introduced a Choir Leader road map to help take people through their own learning journey.
This year in Inspire, we held 12 exceptional live Guest of the Month online zoom sessions, now all available in our membership library. Guests included Roger Emerson, Deke Sharon, Bob Chilcott, Lin Marsh, Alexander L’Estrange, Anu Omideyi, Matt Finch, Sophie Garner, Emily Foulkes, Mary Bourne, Kari Olsen Porthouse, Joanna Tomlinson and Naveen Arles.
We have also seen more choir leaders meeting up in person either for lunch, or events such as Singing United produced by Matt Finch in Bath, UK.
My aspirations for 2022
- Continue to provide high quality online training opportunities and resources aimed at the needs of community choir and singing group leaders.
- Welcome more community choir and singing group leaders to our Inspire Club membership
- Promote a deeper understanding of the research into improving health and wellbeing through singing together.
- Empower people who love singing and teaching groups, to set up choirs as arts businesses, providing a regular recurring income
- To promote the use of choirs to support charity fundraising
- Promote the teaching of healthy singing technique to empower singers in open access community choirs.
- Support arrangers and composers for community choir and singing groups.
Changes for 2022
In 2022, on The Creative Choir Leader website, you will be able to read a regular weekly blog post about various topics relating to planning, leading and growing community choir and singing groups.
One of the most significant changes The Inspire Club will see in 2022, is moving to an open door model. This means you can join the membership at ANYTIME, especially when you feel you need it the most. In fact, you can join right now.
Our monthly subscription for The Inspire Club will remain at £27/month for 2022, including: access to all live online Guest of the Month sessions; access to our online membership video, music and resources library; online networking community, discounts on in-person sessions and access to the Inspire Partnership programme.
Want to find out more? JOIN TODAY!
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who has supported and contributed to both The Creative Choir Leader Group and The Inspire Club membership through 2021.
I know that it is not an exaggeration to say that together we have helped hundreds of choir leaders from across the world, including myself, improve how we run our choirs.
Most importantly, together we are helping each other to transform the lives of those people who sing with us.
This is why we run our choirs in the first place.
I have learnt that the choir leader community is a generous, creative and resillient community.
I have also learnt that my own weekly choir communities (The Great Day Choir and the Bristol Military Wives Choir), are exceptional, caring, committed and resillient people.
In 2021, their loyalty and support have enabled me to step out of a teaching career of near 30 years, and embrace a new path following my choir leading passion.
Although we still face many uncertainties, I’m looking towards 2022 with hope and I hope that you can too.
Thank you again. Wishing you and your choirs all the best for 2022!
Beth Morgan – Founder The Creative Choir Leader and The Inspire Club