Sing for Pleasure

Who we are

Established in 1964 as an affiliate of the international singing movement, A Coeur Joie, and
registered in 1975 with the Charity Commission, our mission is to encourage the enjoyment
of better singing for adults and children from all walks of life, and the development of vocal
leadership expertise to support this.

We work to achieve this mission through the following:

• A highly respected conductor training programme
  Offering structured, progressive tuition in best practice skills and technique at four graded levels, to cater for absolute beginners upwards. We now train around 250-300 choral conductors and vocal leaders from across the UK every year, with more than 99% of course attendees consistently rating our teaching as good to excellent.
   
• Singing courses and events for all ages
  These include Musicianship for Singers courses, which develop music sight reading skills and a greater understanding of music theory from a singer's perspective; Children's Singing Weeks, non-residential summer courses for talented young singers aged 9-13; and Community Choir Showcases, which offer non-auditioned choirs an opportunity to come together and celebrate a shared love of singing.
   
• INSET training and vocal leadership development programmes
  Courses for school teachers and peripatetic staff, often run in partnership with music services, school federations and academy chains, which are fully aligned to the DfE’s Professional Development Standard.
   
• An extensive range of song collections
  Teaching resources for use with adults and children, featuring repertoire designed to support the development of high quality singing skills.

We also offer fully-funded scholarships for one year to talented musicians aged 18-25 who are
passionate about embarking on a choral conducting career, but whose financial circumstances prevent them from accessing the specialist training they need, along with one-off bursaries for teachers and young people aged under 26, to help them develop as effective vocal leaders in a choir or classroom setting.

All those involved in the charity's day-to-day operations and administration work in a voluntary capacity, and are home-based.