If you live in Oxfordshire and long to be part of a choir with a difference, becoming a member of the pioneering contemporary choir, Rock Choir could be for you.
Founded in 2005 by award-winning musician and singer, Caroline Redman Lusher, Rock Choir now has over 33,000 members participating in approximately 400 local communities, including several in Oxfordshire. Rock Choir offers its members a glamorous, accessible, and inclusive experience with no auditions or need to have the ability to read music. Over 120 Rock Choir Team Leaders, including 100 professional musicians and performers, deliver between four and nine weekly Rock Choir rehearsals in their own local communities, whilst leading the performance and events. The Leaders undergo training three times a year to share good practice and develop new skills. The Leaders also make up the professional performance team ‘Rock Choir Vocal Group’.
Krisha Kaye is a Rock Choir Leader who offers rehearsals in Abingdon, Didcot, Oxford, Wantage and Witney as shown below:
Wantage Rock Choir: Tuesday 7:30pm-9:00pm @ The Beacon (Lockinge Room), Portway, Wantage OX12 9BX
Witney Rock Choir: Wednesday11.00am-12.30pm @ Ceewood Hall, Witney, Oxfordshire, OX28 5AR
Oxford Rock Choir: Wednesday 7:30pm-9:00pm @ The Swan School, Marston Ferry Rd, Headington, Oxford OX2 7WP
Abingdon Rock Choir: Thursday 11:00am-12:30pm @ Wootton & Dry Sandford Community Centre, Lamborough Hill, Wootton OX13 6DA
Didcot Rock Choir: Thursday7.30pm-9:00pm @ All Saints C of E School (main hall), Tamar Way, Didcot, OX11 7QH
“Rock Choir attracts individuals from all walks of life and our members experience a huge range of health benefits due to the many life-changing ingredients that make up the unique offering of Rock Choir,” says Krisha. “Rock Choir is a second family to many, and members gain support and experience friendship by being part of the Choir.”
Rock Choir Team Leaders ensure that members can participate in joyous and life-changing experiences; there is an uplifting ethos of fun, friendship, and community spirit, which is a huge part of the Choir’s attraction. Members find themselves enjoying a dynamic and busy new social life as well as connecting with their community. Rock Choir members of all ages enjoy singing feel good melodies and emotional anthems as Rock Choir offers their singers alternative songs to those sung by traditional classical or community choirs. Their repertoire includes feel-good or emotional pop, rock, and contemporary chart songs. Over the years, Caroline and her creative team have taken hit songs from the charts and deconstructed them rebuilding the songs to offer members unique versions of favourite hits.
Being part of a national choir also offers members the chance to perform both locally and nationally at venues such as London’s Abbey Road Studios, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and BBC Proms in the Park. They have also performed together as one Rock Choir at the O2 in London, Wembley Stadium, Liverpool, and the NEC. Members have also supported artists such as Russell Watson, Aled Jones, Gareth Malone and Steve Steinman (to name but a few), contributing to high-profile albums, performing on national television, and singing at red carpet film premiers. Other well-known artists such as Michael Ball and Susan Boyle have had contributions from Rock Choir on their album releases. You may remember hearing Caroline and the Rock Choir Vocal Group, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra, opening both the 2018 and 2019 Proms in the Park hosted by Michael Ball live on BBC Radio 2. During their 2018 performance they also instigated London’s largest ever flash mob with over 10,000 Rock Choir members secretly positioned amongst the audience singing and dancing on Caroline’s cue.
Rock Choir also performs at approximately 2000 events annually around the country to raise money for charity. Rock Choir Team along with the Rockies have raise in excess of £1 million a year for local and national charities through these events. During the COVID lockdowns, the Rock Choir Team created a daily Facebook event ‘Keep Britain Singing’ inviting the public to join in for a daily afternoon sing-along; this continued for an impressive 106 consecutive days, reaching millions of households. This campaign was brought back during lockdown 3 and they were invited by BBC Radio and local BBC TV stations across the UK to talk about the event during the BBC ‘Make a Difference’ campaign.
If you are inspired to join and want to find out more about becoming a Rock Choir member, please visit rockchoir.com
