Ann-Marie Knight, Musical Director of the North Herts Ladies Choir, talks to us about the group's very first anniversary.
The choir celebrated a hugely fun and successful first year of activity with an energetic gospel workshop on 28 February 2025, ran by the highly enthusiastic singer, Musical Director and workshop leader, Elaine Simpson. The workshop capped off a wonderful first year which saw the choir attend their first choir festival, host their first Christmas concert and perform at local events in their hometown, Letchworth Garden City.
I founded this choir (officially 'born' on 29 February 2024) to give women in North Herts and the surrounding areas a voice and a community where ladies of all ages and backgrounds can come together to sing and support one another. We’re often asked why we’re a women’s choir and not a mixed-voice choir and the answer is simple. We’re not against singing with men, it’s quite fun actually, but we are strong believers that women can have a voice by themselves, can stand strong and be heard.
The ethos behind NHLC is to provide a safe, nurturing place in which people can express themselves and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved in year one — including raising over £2000 for local good causes.
The choir meet weekly to rehearse and the now 60-strong choir is never full! As a community choir everyone is encouraged to join — with no auditions — and many members of the choir have already felt brave enough to give solo singing a go in several pieces in the choir’s repertoire.
We sing a mix of everything, from songs from the First World War to contemporary musicals, pop and some light classical pieces. Choir favourites so far have included
Speechless from the live-action Aladdin movie, Holding Out For a Hero by Bonnie Tyler, a contemporary arrangement of Amazing Grace and The Muppets Christmas Carol medley.
Coming up this year the choir will be holding a spring concert of their own in May as well as singing at several local community events across the summer months, including Armed Forces Day. They will also be venturing further afield to join in the celebrations at ChoirBLAST Festival in Godalming.
We also believe in providing members with a sense of community. The local tennis club hosts us after each weekly rehearsal for a drink and a chat and the choir holds social events to give people the opportunity to connect outside of rehearsals. The choir aims to create a place where people can lift each other up and celebrate successes as well as hold each other’s hands when needed. Certainly, there is a lot of laughter and fun on a Thursday evening!
Find out more about the North Herts Ladies Choir on their website and follow them on Facebook / Instagram
