The Sweet Chilli Singers are a small, queer women’s choir who rehearse near Hove lagoon every Wednesday evening.
THEY have been meeting up for nearly two years and sing a wide variety of music covering every palette from Tallis to Taize, natural voice to pop and even some of their own compositions.
The choir formed in a very organic way, starting with just a few friends singing in each other’s homes to now having 12-15 women singers and a regular venue to rehearse at. Women come to sing with the choir from all over Brighton, Hove and Shoreham and enjoy a relaxed, social and fun evening.
There are no auditions and you don’t need to read music; you don’t have to be a strong singer either but they hope that women wishing to join them have tuneful voices that will blend in with their existing choir.
Everything is learnt by ear and sung acapella, however, music is usually available if you prefer. If you’re a nervous singer who would just like to try out a choir in a queer, safe place then this might be for you. Best of all, the choir is free to attend! Members donate only when they can afford, towards the running costs only.
The name of the choir evolved from their fondness for Sweet Chilli Tea! They discovered it was lovely and soothing for their voices and as each new member joined they would end up as part of the sweet chilli tea club too! Other beverages are allowed…
The Sweet Chilli Singers have performed at both The Hand in Hand LGTB+ festival in Manchester and at the World Aids Day combined choirs concert in Brighton last year and members have felt their confidence grow and the choir has become more cohesive. They are led informally by Katie Hoad-Hitchings, who is able to get them to produce some wonderful sounds; she also writes and arranges much of their music. Members are also encouraged to bring their own ideas and songs too!
They start back together in September and will be getting ready to perform at the World Aids Day Concert in December again which was a wonderful experience for all the choir last year. They hope to follow that up with their own concert at the end of May and intend to go to Hand in Hand in Cardiff in August 2019. This LGBT+ choir festival runs every two years in different cities around the country and is a wonderful life affirming and exciting experience with the chance to see and listen to choirs from all over the country.
Their website: sweetchillisingers.co.uk has a members section with a resource area of music parts and music files for singers to rehearse from.
For more information email: info@sweetchillisingers.co.uk.
Facebook: Sweet Chilli Singers
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