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Another year has come and gone and we can’t believe we’re already looking back at all the things we did in 2024. We love to reflect on all the memories created throughout the course of a year so, without further ado, let’s jump right in…

Performances 🎙️

Performing is a huge part of what we do. In 2024, we performed a total of 25 times. Epic! We’ve had the opportunity to form part of the line up some amazing events as well as perform at really awesome venues too. It was brilliant to be invited back to the Ideal Home Show as well as Rhinefield House Hotel, John Lewis, Westquay and Moors Valley to name a few – there are too many to list! As well as that, we’ve had the opportunity to perform at a number of first time events including for NHS England in London too.

Earlier in the year, our first ‘In the Sun’ took place at Minstead Lodge in the New Forest. Hilariously, it was a pretty rainy and wet day but either way, we made memories and was a great event! As well as that, our yearly Winter Show took place at the Regent in Christchurch and was such an awesome event. It’s a highlight of our yearly calendar and something we look forward to all year round. We get to showcase our repertoire to a hugely energetic and supportive audience and the atmosphere really is something special! 💯

Our Green Plan & IAA (I’m An Ally) Programme 🌿

Love Soul Choir is ‘more than just a choir’. We’re really committed to protecting the planet we live on and also want to try to make the world a better and happier place for people too. That’s why these two programmes exist.

Our Green Plan is all about protecting the natural world whilst also encouraging our members (and the wider public) to think differently about their personal carbon footprint. The year, we hosted another 4 events directly linked to our Green Plan. We had an online Q&A with our environment expert, Rachel Clayton, a City Clean at Southampton Common, a Nature Walk in the New Forest and a Beach Clean at Southbourne too. There’s something really special about people coming together to do something good for the planet and local communities.

Our IAA (I’m Any Ally) Programme is our way of encouraging members to self-reflect on issues such as (but not limited to) race, gender, sexual identity, mental health and neurodivergence. It’s designed to help us as a choir be more genuinely inclusive and it has led to some really amazing, open and honest conversations between members. We’ve continued a number of discussion topics this year but also hosted two events as well including some Active Bystander Training led by Sarah Mohammad-Qureshi as well as our first ever IAA: Live! Event early in 2024. We had a couple of speakers attend; Fraedan Mastrantonio talked about their lived experience being non-binary and Debs Carter spoke of her experience with depression. After that, we had a live Q&A session from race and diversity consultant, Don John. It started some really meaningful conversations.

Our Standard ✨

Each year, we push the bar. We create song arrangements with choreography to impress. It’s been amazing watching all of these songs come to life in 2024. It’s safe to say that Love Soul Choir has never been in a stronger place. Our audiences have been blown away at each and every performance this year.

We also added British Sign Language to the dance moves of ‘I Will Get There’, one of our newest songs for this year. It wasn’t an easy thing to do but, we delivered and the sense of accomplishment has been incredible.

It’s also super important to be including BSL in the work that we’re doing.

The Culture 💜

We’re so proud of the culture at Love Soul Choir. Something has changed over the past 12 months that’s really hard to explain but it’s nothing short of wonderful. The cohesion between members is super powerful and there is an incredible sense of support and respect between each and every person. It’s a feeling, and it’s a good one. Love Soul Choir is such a special place.

What’s Next? 👀

We’re officially on the countdown to 2025. Recently, we held our End of Year Presentation session for members. It’s where Dan (Choir Leader) reflects upon 2024 before looking ahead towards 2025. There are lots of exciting things in store.

Our members are already pretty excited for next year. We’ve already got some incredible performances lined up, including One Sound: Legends at Mayflower Theatre, as well as some additions to our IAA Programme, updates to our Green Plan and new songs (with awesome dance moves) that we can’t wait to learn. Bring it on! 😀