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Earlier this month, we headed to the Bournemouth Little Theatre for our yearly Solo Performance Night. We had an amazing time and the atmosphere in the room was incredible! 💯

The Solo Performance Night is an optional opportunity for members of Love Soul Choir to perform any song they wish either as a soloist or as part of a duo or small group to the rest of the choir and a small number of family and friends. It’s all about confidence building and where better to push yourself out of your comfort zone than in front of such an incredibly supportive audience full of support and encouragement?!

This year’s event featured such a wide variety of songs ranging from ‘Black Horse and the Cherry Tree’ by KT Tunstall, and ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ by Bonnie Raitt to ‘Selfish’ by Justin Timberlake and ‘Local Boy in the Photograph’ by the Stereophonics to name just a few.

“It blows me away how supportive it is and how talented and diverse we are in style and delivery; which is what makes the evening so special & a highlight of the year.”

During the event, one of our members, who is originally from Brazil, performed a medley of three Brazilian songs; ‘Feira de Mangai’ by Clara Nunes, ‘Garota de Ipanema’ by Stan Getz & João Gilberto and ‘Mas Que Nada’ by Sérgio Mendes. She performed these songs whilst playing the Asalato which is a traditional Brazilian percussion instrument consisting of two small gourds filled with beans. It was lovely for her to feel comfortable enough to share part of her culture with us. 🇧🇷

It was also lovely to see a number of group performances this year. We saw four members take to the stage for an epic performance of ‘Lady Marmalade’ originally by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and P!nk – with full choreography.

Five of our male singers in Bournemouth came together to perform their version of ‘Never Had a Dream Come True’ originally by S Club 7 – with a dramatic key change – before we welcomed six lovely Southampton members to the stage for their rendition of ‘Six’ from SIX! the Musical. 👑

“I had such a brilliant time this evening, the support was just fantastic as ever and the atmosphere electric. I have loved putting together a group of people and us rehearsing and bonding over time, just a great experience all round. Tonight just brought all of that joy together.”

The night ended with an awesome version of ‘We Are Family’, originally by Sister Sledge performed by five of our Bournemouth members who ended up rewriting the lyrics to the last chorus. The last chorus ended with the words ‘Love Soul family, I got all my people with me!’ repeated. It was the perfect end to such a wonderful night.

“After last night I’d say one of the places I feel most safe is with Love Soul Choir.”

Performing in front of others can be terrifying and we know that it’s a daunting thing to do. Watching our members take the plunge and then feel totally supported and uplifted afterwards makes it all so worthwhile.

One member sent us an email saying: “I never would have been able to stand up there 18 months ago and sing in front of everyone like that. It’s because of the incredible people in Love Soul Choir, the connections I’ve made and the confidence I’ve grown. Joining the choir really has been life changing!”

We’re already super excited for next year! 💜