Help Keep Our Choir of Refugees & Friends Singing!

Aim

We’re a choir of refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and friends, determined to keep singing & recording together through Covid-19 and beyond

We’re trying to raise £10,000 in the next four weeks to keep us going through the winter!

Before Covid, half our income came from live gigs. Will you help us take a new direction?

We are a group of 50 singers from 30 different nationalities, who have performed at the Houses of Parliament, at Shakespeare’s Globe, for the United Nations and on the BBC.

"We are more than a choir, we are more than a community. We are a family." - Sonia, choir member

Since the closure of the Calais Jungle in 2016, the Choir has been bringing people together to provide vital support. Every day in the news is another story about the hostile environment. We’re determined to change the narrative!

Citizens of the World Choir provides a safe, supportive and celebratory space for refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and friends to make brilliant, beautiful, loud music that raises up the diverse voices, cultures & experiences that find sanctuary and a home in our choir.

"The choir means a lot to me. It's like a soothing balm to my inner mind." - Abiola, choir member

At this time, togetherness has never been more important. And because we can’t perform to a (live) audience for a little while yet, we’re going to change tack: we are going to devise, compose and record three original songs! These will feature artists with lived experience of displacement, in an exciting collaboration with renowned composer Tom Donald and led by our Musical Director Becky Dell.

This means that by Springtime, you’ll be able to hear our music on Spotify, and we will be able to reach even more people to spread our message of inclusivity and hope.

"I’m so happy to be in the choir. The supportive and friendly environment makes me feel good and ambitious to be a singer in future." - Kazim, choir member

Why Do We Need Your Support?

We’ve come so far to be together, and before Covid, half our income came from live gigs - but obviously, performance as we knew it is impossible just now. 

So we’re trying to raise £10,000 in the next four weeks to keep us going through the winter.

Many of our choir already faced economic deprivation, isolation, loneliness and the mental health challenges that come with marginalisation and insecure housing. Six months of Covid has just made this worse. Some of us are forbidden from working by the Home Office while we wait for a decision and therefore exist on just over £5/day. A few have no recourse to public funds at all, and rely on emergency food parcels provided by the choir. 

And we’ve not let lockdown stop us! 

Since March, we’ve rehearsed online, and since August we’ve run safe and socially distanced rehearsals in person too. Prior to Lockdown 2 coming into force,  we were able to - cautiously but joyously - get back together at the Covid-secure venue, Mycenae House in Blackheath, keeping online and in-person rehearsals running concurrently. The New York Times even ran a feature on us as one of the first UK choirs getting back together! 

And while we're back online for now, our recording plans continue apace, as we keep up the soulful, healing work of making music together.

What Does It Cost? 

It costs over £5000/month to keep the choir running, and Covid has devastated our income. Your generous support will give a platform to voices from all over the world to unite in music. 

A £5 donation will cover the cost of printing & posting a music pack to a member of the choir while we can't be together. 

A £12 donation will cover a refugee / asylum seeking member's travel to and from our safe, socially distanced rehearsal

A £20 donation pays for phone data to allow a refugee/asylum seeker access to a month of rehearsals online

A £25 donation would cover the weekly cost of our rehearsal room, when we can get together

A £120 donation will pay for a secondhand smartphone - meaning we can include our shielding members in our activities

A £300 donation will cover the cost of printing and sending music packs to the whole choir 

A £500 donation will cover the cost of two rehearsals, including travel expenses for our refugee members, and room hire

THANK YOU!

For all rewards, please make sure you click on the Rewards buttons first in order to redeem your generous donation! For any difficulties or issues, please email [email protected] 

Terms & Conditions:

Any physical or digital rewards will in the first place be marked by an email voucher, sent within 14 days of the donation being placed. Cards, mugs and tea-towels for UK delivery only. Requests for recordings of songs and poems, or self-authored songs and poems, must be appropriate in terms of content - ie, no glorification of violence or fascism, or incitement to hatred. The Choir reserves the right to advise accordingly on requested content. Delivery dates are all approximate. For Emily rewards, requests must be outside of copyright (pre-75 years). For Ian rewards, songs are covers only, for personal use.  For exclusive performance by Choir: learning and recording will take place in one rehearsal.  Digital rewards may not be shared publicly, sold, or used for other monetary purposes.

This project successfully funded on 18th January 2021