BBC Performing Arts Fund to host choral event in Liverpool

Tomorrow, Wednesday 15 September, budding singers will be given the chance to exercise their vocal chords at a choral event being hosted by the BBC Performing Arts Fund in Liverpool.

The two-part event is being held in association with BBC Radio Merseyside and includes a free vocal training workshop at Radio Merseyside in the afternoon, and an evening recital at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, which will showcase the talents of three local choirs.

During the afternoon, members of the public with a broad range of singing abilities will be given the chance to attend a workshop with expert vocal coaches from Sense of Sound. The keen performers will also be recording a short jingle for Radio Merseyside.

The evening will see the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King light up as local choirs showcase their talent and put on what is set to be an incredible performance. The choirs set to perform are the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Concert Society’s Cantata Choir, Mersey Harmonies and Hope Street Harmonies all of whom were supported by the BBC Performing Arts Fund in the last year.

The workshop will take place between 3pm and 5pm and the evening recital at 7.30pm. Both events are free and open to members of the public who can tune into Radio Merseyside for more information on how to sign up.

In Sept 2009 the Choral Ambition scheme enabled the BBC Performing Arts Fund to award £208,000 in financial aid to 98 choirs made up of over 6000 individuals. The fund was blown away by the level of raw talent from the hundreds of diverse choirs that applied for financial aid from around the country. The scheme provided funding to allow choirs to progress with developmental projects and to commission new music, as well as offering mentoring sessions and workshops.

Established in 2003, the BBC Performing Arts Fund is the only BBC charity devoted to supporting the creative dreams of struggling artists across the nation through distributing revenue from the voting lines of BBC One entertainment programmes such as Over The Rainbow.
Notes to Editors

The BBC Performing Arts Fund helps aspiring music-makers and performers looking for a way to get ahead.

The BBC Performing Arts Fund is a registered charity, number 1101276. The charity (formerly Fame Academy Bursary Trust) was set up in 2003 within the BBC.

The fund receives revenue from the voting lines of BBC One entertainment programmes that seek to find new performing talent (including Fame Academy, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and I’d Do Anything).

To date the fund has allocated over £3 million to fund young musicians, from a range of genres, to help them pursue their careers in music.

The fund’s mission is to seek out and support excellent aspiring performers and those directly supporting performing artists who, for reasons of lack of existing opportunity, personal background or circumstance, would not have been able to achieve their most ambitious goals, or their talent’s greatest potential without the fund’s support or intervention.

BBC Radio Merseyside is the most listened to BBC Local Radio station outside of London. Bringing you the best in local news, travel and weather. With personality, presenters and great music… we have over 300,000 listeners across North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside.