Dave
Dave
Choir Leader
Dave is a community leader, drummer and musician, and is one of the founding members of Deptford Community Choir
Dave has been involved in music for his whole life, since he joined a music group when he was a child, to learning the drums and then studying for a degree in music, and recently picking up the piano.
“When I was seven I joined a singing group called modern music, which wasn’t choral. I would sit next to the drummer and listen and learn.”
Dave spent a year talking to and listening to people living in Deptford and Lewisham to find out what people were missing and what their community needed.
When the choir first started out there were three founding members, and Dave was just going to conduct.
But when the pianist had to leave, Dave took over that role too, and now he sings, plays the piano and conducts, sometimes all at once.
“I spoke to a lot of people in the area and from different backgrounds and I heard many stories about mental health and a loss of community spirit.”
“Someone suggested a choir, and that’s how we got started.”
Louise
Louise
Member of Sopranos
Louise is an in-house lawyer, a full time mum, and a school governor, among other things!
Louise first heard about the choir through her kids’ school, where she got to know Dave.
She has always sung in choirs but when her work choir came to an end, she found herself without a choir home.
“When I go to choir I can leave all my baggage at the door and let the music fill my soul! My family know that choir evenings are my time, so my husband knows he will be putting the kids to bed on Wednesdays.”
Louise’s love of singing began when she was little and she would go out with her sisters in Kennington and sing the songs from the musical Annie to unwitting members of the public (who loved it!)
“For me choir is about connecting and making great music, your level of experience doesn’t matter. To make good music we just need to sing together and feel connected.”
Louise started off as an alto, but realised that her voice could go deeper, and decided to join the lents (ladies and gents/tenor&bass) section for a challenge.
“I really love interacting with the guys, and I’ve made some lovely friendships, which are really growing.”
Louise loves singing all of the choir songs, but her favourite is Thina Siumnye.
“Thina Simunye is a call and response song that comes from a place of healing, something that a lot of people need these days.”
Maureen
Maureen
Member of Sopranos
Maureen works in the community with families and children. She heads the mothers’ union and teaches Sunday school at St Catherine’s church in New Cross.
Maureen came across the choir by chance. She was on her way to Lewisham shopping centre and saw a sign in a window.
“I just took the number down and went along, when I joined there were only two or three other people in the choir.”
“Dave just said ‘I’ve got some music if you want to sing’.”
The friendly atmosphere of Deptford Community Choir makes it special for Maureen who has been part of church and school choirs in the past.
“Singing in a group is very uplifting, the feeling of being together just raises your spirits, and from the first time you walk into a practice session everyone makes you feel welcome.”
“There’s no pressure to be there every single week, and the focus is on singing not sheet music or attendance.”
Maureen is a big fan of Bruno Mars, and loved singing one of his songs as part of the choir, but Thina Simunye is her current favourite.
“Thina Simunye is uplifting and spiritual with simple lyrics that say let’s come together and sing.”
“I didn’t know the history behind the song, but it felt very warm and everyone picked up on it really fast.”
As a regular church-goer, Maureen has discovered a spiritual dimension of singing together at Deptford Community Choir.
“I feel spiritual, as though the music has touched a nerve and I feel empowered to sing. I also love listening to the other singers when they sing solos. It takes a lot of courage to sing a solo!”
“I feel a long lost sense of community at Deptford Community Choir, and find it amazing it can create something like this.”
Fiona
Fiona
Member of Sopranos
Fiona is setting out on her DJ career, while trying to get her teenage daughter to move out and go to uni. She used to work in retail, and volunteers in her community.
Fiona joined the choir after a friend convinced her to come along. She had tried singing in other choirs, but they asked for knowledge of sheet music, and she always felt out of her depth.
“I just wanted to sing! I was nervous when I joined, but I loved hearing the choir’s sound, and I didn’t feel any pressure to join or come back the next week – but I did.”
“When I sing in the choir I feel like no one can touch me like I’m invincible, it’s very empowering.”
Fiona is on medication with some serious side-effects, and the choir makes up an important part of her weekly routine.
“I can move other commitments around, but not choir – it helps me get out of bed sometimes.”
“When I sing in the choir, a kinder side of me emerges, and I like to listen to the other singers. It’s just like talking to a friend, singing makes me feel so much lighter, like I can unburden myself.
“Choir makes me feel good, no matter what kind of day I’ve had.”
One Life One Love One Family is Fiona’s favourite song because it was written as a group exercise by the choir, and composed by Dave, the choir leader.
The first time the choir sang the song was in a garden between lockdowns during the covid-19 pandemic.
“I love the solo at the beginning, and how the rest of the choir joins in and raises the raises up the soloist’s energy.”
“The words were so poignant because the song reflected our experiences during the pandemic, and some of the challenges we were all facing. I will never forget the feeling we had in that garden when we sang it together for the first time.”
“It’s a rare experience being part of something so human-orientated.”
John
John
Tenor and member of lents
John has been making music in a un-tutored way since the 1970s – mainly in avant-garde ensembles and a rock band that is still going. He’s also an academic and is currently devising a new kind of art school that he calls ‘Art School Plus’.
John first heard about the choir from a friend in a pub, and although he felt a little nervous from previous singing experience, he loved the concept.
“I saw the idea of practice sessions taking place in a pub as a wonderful way of giving people a literal voice within their community.”
“I was really interested in the choir’s cultural approach to making music, professional standards are not that important to me when I play an instrument.”
John joined the Lents (Ladies & gents / tenor & base) and is glad to be learning to push his vocal range higher – thanks to Dave’s tuition and guidance.
“The people who sing solos are not just the experienced singers, Dave gives everyone a chance to sing and be heard.”
“Dave’s approach reminded me a bit of the Irish Pub music experience in which everyone is encouraged to contribute without being judged.
“There’s lots of encouragement from the community.”
John’s favourite song is You’re the Voice by John Farnham, and he loves how it raises self-esteem at the very personal level of one’s own voice, but also how this is what creates the voice of community.
“Dave picks songs with lyrics that resonate with individuals’ own experiences and their communities at the same time. This helps to create a social and democratic consciousness, in the choir and beyond.”
John
John
Tenor and member of lents
I wanted to bring music into my life, so I thought why not learn to sing. The idea of a community choir also appealed to me because the people who live in Deptford make it the best place to live in London by far.
I spent my 20s travelling the world, and I just found myself in Deptford when I finished my Masters. I now live in Woolwich.
Being part of the choir has not just taught me to sing, its also helped me gain a new confidence and understanding of music, which I never had before. The relaxed and friendly atmosphere is really what made this for me.
The choir has also helped me feel like Im part of something positive in my community, and I have made some really amazing connections with people I would have never met if it wasn’t for the choir.
It makes me feel like Im part of something bigger.