Bolton Cancer Voices is beginning a new chapter - and inviting anyone affected by a cancer diagnosis to come along and sing. No audition, no experience and no ability to read music required.
You'd expect a choir to be formed around a shared love of music. Bolton Cancer Voices has that (in buckets), certainly - but its members also share a special understanding that reaches way beyond the songs they perform.
Now, following two summer appearances and the arrival of a new Musical Director, the choir is opening its doors to more people from Bolton and across the wider region.
Bolton Cancer Voices recently celebrated its 14th birthday with Songs & Sax, before appearing at Adlington Carnival. Its members are now preparing to start work on their festive programme under Philip O’Connor, the choir’s newly appointed Musical Director, who joins accompanist Stephen Martin.
Currently around 40 voices strong, the choir welcomes anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis of any kind, at any point in their life.
There's no auditions. Members don't need to read music and previous singing experience is emphatically not part of the entry requirements. Seasoned performers, uncertain beginners and those who've previously confined their singing to the car or shower are equally welcome.
That openness is the USP! A cancer diagnosis can redraw a person’s life in ways that aren't always visible. Treatment might end, appointments become less frequent and the people around them might understandably hope that life can simply return to normal. But “normal” isn't necessarily waiting where it was left.
Bolton Cancer Voices gives people the chance to meet others who understand something of that experience without requiring it to dominate every conversation. The connection might begin with cancer, but the choir itself is built around music, friendship and the considerable pleasure of making a joyful noise together.
We all know that group singing can bring benefits for both physical and emotional wellbeing, but there's something especially valuable in belonging to a room where nobody needs to justify their presence or arrive with any musical credentials.
The choir meets in central Bolton every Monday evening from 7.30pm until 9pm. Membership is free, and Bolton Cancer Voices also endeavours to cover as many of the associated costs of taking part as possible.
For anyone who has lived through a cancer diagnosis and wondered whether joining a choir might be for them, the answer from Bolton Cancer Voices is refreshingly uncomplicated: come as you are.
Whether you arrive with a powerful voice, a tentative one or one that hasn't been exercised for years, there is room for it.
To enquire about joining Bolton Cancer Voices, contact chair Karen Elliott on 01204 595562.
