Hampshire Young Carers Choir- One Year On

Wouldn’t it be nice to start a young carers choir, I thought to myself, two years ago. The idea came to me after I started teaching myself guitar at the age of 25 and found, to my surprise, that I could sing. But I had no musical qualifications or experience. I didn’t come from a musical family or a musical background and had never had lessons before. All I knew was that music had changed something inside of me, it had healed me and I thought that maybe it would have the same effect on the young carers I worked with. This is the story of the Hampshire Young Carers Choir...

I approached Soco Music Project, having worked with them in the past, and told them my idea. To my delight they agreed to fund a pilot Choir, offering us a space and a Choir leader. We had six regular members and within four months, we received funding from Youth Music. This was the start of the Hampshire Young Carers Choir.

It soon became clear that we had started something extremely powerful with the Choir. Once the group was established, and the young people felt comfortable with one another, we witnessed an array of emotions that were being released during song. Some sessions young carers would be simultaneously singing and crying. Other times, when something was happening at home, they would refuse to sing or run out of the room during rehearsal. Confidence and self-esteem within the group was also particularly low and all of these factors combined made the early months of the Choir a challenging time for the staff, volunteers, music leaders and also the Choir members themselves. We navigated our way through this difficult terrain by remaining positive, trying new ideas each week and taking each session as it came. We put one to one support in place for the members exhibiting this behaviour and also encouraged and enforced a respectful attitude towards one another at all times, as well as incorporating praise and time for sharing into each session. Sensitivity towards the needs of the group was imperative in creating a safe, fun environment where they could all release their emotions in a constructive and positive way. Having a young carer’s project worker who was able to address these needs both inside and outside of the session was imperative in the early days of the choir and in its success. Within four months, young carers started sharing their problems with one another and consequently became a support network for each other. All of the members have referred to the Choir as being like a ‘family’ to them.

                During my own development as a Music Leader, I have learnt so much, not only from training, observing and working directly with other music leaders but also from first-hand experience running the choir sessions. It’s been a great experience for the young carers to watch me grow in confidence and in skill and they too have grown alongside me. By watching me come out of my comfort zone, I feel it has inspired them also to come out of theirs. It has become clear that music leaders set a powerful example to the group they are working with. If they take risks and challenge themselves, then the group will mirror this in their own behaviour. Now, I am proud to say that I am a qualified Community Music Leader and I intend to keep growing and learning from here on, delivering music workshops to as many people as I can. Music really can change lives! Eventhough, the funding from Youth Music is drawing to an end, I am very happy to say that the Hampshire Young Carers Choir, 16 members strong, has sourced funding for another year and I'm very excited to see what the future holds. Watch this space...