There have been several references to community choirs recently, and I am very interested in the link between community choirs and folk music, particularly in the UK. In Hampshire, there are a number of community choirs, and while I know that some will rarely, if ever sing a British Folk song, there are others which do encourage the paerformance of British, and more specifically, English, traditional songs. Carolyn Robson, Paul Sartin and I all use english folksong as part of our choir repertoires. Our various choirs have been involved in eprforming at Folk Festivals, and this has encouraged choir members to attend and support other performances of folk music in the area, which has been great for boosting audience numbers!

I'd be interested to hear from other people (especially in the UK) who lead or sing in community choirs, and to hear about whether you include any English Folk songs in your repertoire, if so what, if not why, and if there is any overlap between your choir and the folk scene in your area.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Saro