Thank you to everyone who gave time to share thoughts on the future direction of Love Singing. We haven’t written absolutely everything that was discussed here but we’re excited to share these highlights with you.
Key action points are:
Dates for your diaries
Join the Scotland Sings network
Submit your event listings
In person events came up top of the list for the majority, with personal connection, peer to peer collaboration, a chance to sing together, support each other, feel valued and visible, and share your experiences with other singing leader being very highly valued as part of these. Online events and online access is also very important for those who can’t travel or who live more rurally. So we’ll be building the programme for the first year around these key areas and supporting the network through the year with additional resources and information.
In person dates for your diaries
We are working on finalising details for these two key events, and will let you know when booking is open. For now, please pop these dates in your diary.
Sunday 26th October 2025 – Song leader choir day
Venue: Likely to be in the central belt
Time: 10am-4pm TBC on where it’s based and travel connections
Programme: What could you do with a really amazing choir who will learn really fast? Come along and enjoying singing with your colleagues. You will be invited to bring your songs and warm ups to share and try out. Something you’ve written, want to share, or want a quick recording of? The song leader choir can sing it! This will be a great opportunity to meet other song leaders and to pick up some ideas. Entirely suitable for song leaders of all levels of experience.
Cost: FREE
Saturday 28th March 2026 – Comfort of Voices Songference
Venue: Likely to be north of the central belt, eg. Inverness/Birnam/Perth
Time: 10am-4pm TBC on where it’s based and travel connections
Programme: This is likely to be similar to our 2022 Comfort of Voices event which held workshops, singing sessions, and a bit of discussion and input into what comes next. It will be suitable for song leaders of all levels of experience and we expect to livestream or record (budget dependent).
Cost: FREE
Joining the network for advocacy & support
ALL of this work, events, and feedback alongside the data that we collect will help us to advocate for your work and provide a level of visibility that isn’t possible to achieve as individuals. We aim to build a picture so strong, clear, and unavoidably impactful that we can secure ongoing funding to support and stabilise our sector for many years to come.
We are revamping the mailing list and will be asking those who want to access events and resources to provide some details about themselves. There are a number of reasons for this, including so that we can:
- provide a public map of song leaders across Scotland
- provide skills profiles of song leaders who are happy to support others
- know who to ask about specific questions
- better understand our sector and its needs
- build a picture of the impact of singing in Scotland and can use this to advocate for more public funding, recognition and publicity for all of your work
- plan where to hold events (silly example: if there is only 1 person in the network living in Perth, and no one based nearby, we are unlikely to plan an event there)
Please complete this form, even if you have completed previous forms.
Any personal data that you provide will be held securely in line with Love Music’s privacy and data protection policies. You can let us know when you sign up whether you are happy for us to share your information with other choir leaders or if you’d prefer any requests for contact to go through our team.
We need your help
Getting information about Scotland Sings to choir leaders who aren’t aware of the support and events they can access has to be a combined effort.
Some things you can do that will help:
- send us any training and events for singing leaders that are happening in your area – submit your events listing here
- ask your choir members to share info with the leaders of other choirs they are in
- word of mouth – if everyone on this mailing list invites or shares this with 3 colleagues, we’d be able to reach a high percentage of the singing leaders in the country
- signpost to events run by different organisations and individuals circulated in a regular newsletter and on the website
- invite choir committee chairs as well as song leaders to join the mailing list
- invite Conservatoire and University community course students to join
- promote social media features on what is happening across the country to highlight the work of network members
New name: Scotland Sings / Alba a’ Seinn
Our new name has been chosen and over the next few months will update our website presence and branding to reflect this – aiming to launch the new look around our first in person event in October! Thanks to Hands Up for Trad for allowing the use of the name Scotland Sings.
Operator service
There are many singing leader Facebook groups out there, where you can ask questions publicly about all related topics, and the consensus was that we don’t need another one! We’ll offer an operator service instead. Ask us questions by email and we will ask the steering group for responses first, then identify people in the network who might be able to help, and if all else fails, can ask more widely in our newsletter, anonymously unless you tell us otherwise.
Going through a central portal will help us to identify commonly asked questions and themes that we can build future support resources around for the benefit of all.
This community is a safe space – there is no question too ‘basic’ or ‘stupid’ and you should feel safe to ask and we will support you to find answers.
Online events & workshops
At our meetings, we discussed the idea of a ‘gardener’s question time’ type approach to asking a panel of experienced song leaders questions in an open forum. We talked about potential online written forums to ask questions too, but understand that it’s also important to be able to ask questions in a non-public space and receive a personalised and specific response. See operator service above!
We’re looking at planning 60-90 minute online events with speakers and topics identified by the steering group, but with time for general questions and discussion too. Topics might include something around care and working with vulnerable adults as many leaders mentioned the responsibility of looking after the mental health of their choirs and vulnerable adults in particular, but also needing to know how to look after themselves in the process. Also perhaps how to adjust scores for screen readers which is useful for visually impaired and Braille readers, formatting music for people with dyslexia, and the psychology of music and autism.
We’re also looking at some musically satisfying online sessions especially for those in more remote areas – this would involve having a few people getting together in the same space to sing some music in parts.
Dates for these TBC!
Please let us know if you have suggestions for other topics to cover by emailing us.
Regional development & representation
We discussed regional representation and events, including that the steering group could have regional diversity rather than, or as well as, genre diversity. We also discussed that the project could have regional representatives outside of the steering group to help identify local singing activities that may be useful to others in the area, that we could help share info about. Is this you? Please get in touch. Thank you to those who already gave an expression of interest to take such a role at the May consultations.
Steering group succession planning
Our current group was formed to programme Comfort of Voices in 2022. We are working on building a succession plan so that the roles can be shared and rotated, giving people the opportunity to sit on the group for a set period of time and be paid for their time.
Resources
We’re still planning to make the types of resources as mentioned in previous emails, including songbooks, warm up libraries, fair pay rate card, etc.