A signing choir has been set up in Oxfordshire to encourage deaf people to become involved with music.
Named ‘Handy Voices’, the group, based in Witney, will meet for the first time next week. They hope to develop and rehearse songs for a performance in November, alongside a mainstream children’s choir.
They aim to use sign language in all performances of their songs, in collaboration with ‘Songscope’, a young people’s choir. Songscope recently held a performance of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was fully interpreted.
One of the group’s founders, Clare Saunders, said: “Signed choirs are something that’s taking off in the UK at the moment but we don’t know of any others in Oxfordshire. The big thing behind it is involving deaf people in making music and an activity that they can join in together with people who can hear.”
As the group will be performing in sign language, this is a novel opportunity for deaf people to become involved with a choir, either as sign singers or as audience members.
If you would like to know more, or get involved, Ms. Saunders can be contacted at clare.saunders20@talktalk.net
Read the original article here: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/NEWS/11456803.Choir_for_deaf_people_is_hitting_right_notes_with_community/
Posted on September 10, 2014 by Editor