My singing adventures

by Simon Ager

I enjoy singing very much and have been singing regularly with various groups since 2007. Before that I sang a bit on my own, but didn't really have the confidence to sing in public. I particularly like sing songs in Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

At secondary school I sang in the school choir for a few years before I took up the clarinet and joined the school band instead. A few years later I got interested in traditional Irish and Scottish music, and I've been listening to it ever since. I tried to learn some songs in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, but only sang them on my own.

In 2004 I did a course in Irish language at Oideas Gael, the Irish language and culture centre in Gleann Cholm Cille, Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. As part of the activities there we sang songs in Irish, which I really enjoyed, but it wasn't until the following year that I "found" my singing voice. Since then I've been back there every year and I've regained the confidence to sing in public. Since 2007 I've taken part in workshops in traditional Irish sean-nós singing with Gearóidín Bhreathnach and Lillis Ó Laoire at Oideas Gael.

For a few months in 2007 I sang with a group lead by J Eoin at the Hammersmith Irish Centre in London. We sang traditional and contemporary songs from Ireland in English, and we did one performance in Hammersmith tube station to raise money for a local hospital. Eventually I decided that going to London every week was taking up too much of my time and money, so I decided to look for choirs to join in Brighton, where I was living at the time.

In January 2008 I joined the Brighton Welsh Male Voice Choir and the Brighton Vox Community Choir. The male voice choir performs regularly in Brighton and the surrounding area to raise money for various charities - during the six months I was in the choir we did no fewer than seven concerts. We sang songs from Wales in Welsh and English, as well as songs from films, musicals and other sources. The community choir sings songs from all over the world in many different languages, including English, French, Croatian, Zulu, Xhosa and Saami, but rarely performs in public

In July 2008 I moved to Bangor in Wales and not long after that I joined the Bangor Community Choir and the Bangor University Music Society Choir. The music society performs once or twice a term, usually in the university, and sings a mixture of songs - folk songs, songs from films, classical pieces and contemporary works by the likes of Karl Jenkins and John Rutter. The community choir sings songs from all over the world, especially from Eastern Europe and southern Africa, in many different languages. We perform several times a term around North Wales, and take part in the big Sing for Water concert in London every August with many other choirs.

Here are some videos from a Music Society Choir concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6jKcRdyu2I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3WfmiCoO-4

In August 2008 I did a course in (Scottish) Gaelic Song with Christine Primrose at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic College on the Isle of Skye. This was great fun and I'll definitely go back for more. Within the space of a week we learnt over 30 songs, and most of the people in the group knew no Gaelic, so found the pronunication of the words a bit tricky. My Gaelic wasn't fluent at the time, but I did know how to pronounce the words and could have a basic conversation.

In October 2008 I took part in a singing workshop with Northern Harmony, a group of very talented young singers from the USA. This was really good fun and we learnt songs from America, Corsica, Georgia, South Africa and Ukraine.

In June 2009 I joined the Bangor Welsh Learners Choir, which is made up of people who are studying or who have studied Welsh in Bangor at the University's School of Lifelong Learning. Although I haven't done a Welsh course there, I did do a Bangor University Welsh course at Nant Gwrtheyrn in 2008. The choir sings traditional Welsh folk songs and performs in eisteddfodau in North Wales, and also in the National Eisteddfod when it takes places in North Wales. In 2009 we won choral competitions at local eisteddfodau in Amlwch and Llangefni, and at the National Eisteddfod in Bala.

In August 2009 I took part in workshop at Bangor University which involved learning Handel's Messiah from scratch in a day, and performing it the same evening. This was great fun and went very well, although there were more people in the chorus and orchestra than in the audience at the concert.

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