Keep our Cardiff choir going!

Aim

Llandaff North’s inclusive community choir restarted in Dec ‘22. Please help us afford to continue to offer a warm welcome space for all!

Who are we?

The ‘Llandaff North Community Choir’ are a group from across Cardiff meeting on Monday evenings. The first iteration of the choir folded before lockdown but due to much local enthusiasm a choir has been revived, bringing connection back to the community after the last two years of lock down.

We are a diverse bunch, young and old some of whom have physical disabilities or live alone and the choir offers a lifeline to many that de-stresses, reduces isolation, improves mental health and general wellbeing. It is helping us all relearn how to be social and close with others again in a safe & warm space, singing and breathing deeply, which helps with mental health. 

Community impact
There are no auditions for the choir, it is a welcoming, inclusive group where even those terrified of singing or without musical experience can join. We learn by ear and sing for fun and harmony!

Through each of the 5 week tasters, we have had new people join every week having heard through social media/word of mouth about the choir. We would like to continue running at low cost to ensure inclusivity, and would like to offer workshops and sessions to residents of local care homes as well as bring joy to the local community during performances at key events like summer festivals.

We were unable to find a low-cost venue to run the 5 week launch-pad, but the community minded managers of the local Railway Hotel stepped in and offered to open the lounge for us when ordinarily they would be closed on a Monday. They have not charged us to use the space, which has been warm and welcoming each week.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We have been able to offer an introductory 5 weeks of choir sessions at low cost due to the generosity of the local Railway Hotel offering us space to practice at no cost. The first 5 weeks has attracted 48 people overall and at least 30 people every week. A feedback survey run recently showed that 95% of respondents would like to continue the choir after the 5-week taster:

How we’ll spend the money raised
We’d donate monies to the Railway Hotel to ensure that the increasing costs of hosting community groups like ours can continue. This would go some way to covering the heating & electricity costs incurred for our ongoing use of the space.

The Railway Hotel has become the heart of the local community. The last few years have been very hard for everyone with the pandemic and cost of living crisis. In spite of this, The Railway Hotel continues to support the community offering many opportunities (choir, quizzes, open mic night, comedy nights) to bring people together.

The last few years have taken their toll on The Railway Hotel, and with rising costs the business has been at risk of closing its doors for good.

It would mean the world to us to ensure that the Railway can continue to be at the heart of Llandaff North providing a warm, safe and supportive environment for people to come together.

It will also ensure that for our choir, for those who can pay, costs can be kept to a minimum each week. Any additional funds raised will enable us to offer more no-cost spaces for others who can’t afford to pay to come to sing!

This project successfully funded on 29th March 2023