BUXTON FRINGE: Kaleidoscope of song will be a feast for the ears

Although performing as part of the Buxton Fringe, Kaleidoscope is run by Buxton Festival and Buxton Opera House.

Carol explains: “It is definitely in the Fringe because of the kind of music we do but being supported by the Festival shows they value that kind of music-making as well.”

The choir’s diverse repertoire features choral classics, pop, folk, gospel and world music. There are no auditions and generally no sheet music. From the outset, she felt: “There was a place for a choir like this in Buxton. We’ve got the Musical Society that is an established choral society... and I wanted to do something that was open to people who wanted to sing but didn’t know how to go about it.”

Involved with the Association of British Choral Directors, Buxton-based Carol also leads Tideswell Singers and creates passenger choirs on cruise ships.

She is always looking for new ways to teach, whether it is actions to help communicate a tricky rhythm (“I love melody but I think music comes from pulse and rhythm”) or moving singers around. “By encouraging people to sing different things, you listen in different ways, which means you are going to blend better with the group.”

To relax the mood, Carol will make a joke of it when things go wrong or demonstrate faults in a deliberately exaggerated way. Her husband Ian often attends sessions, providing guitar accompaniment and affectionate banter.

Building confidence is key. “There is a generation of teachers who if they didn’t like what they were hearing from the children would say: ‘Will you just mime?’, instead of finding ways of helping them to find their singing voice.”

She says firmly: “I do believe that everybody can sing. I don’t deny that some sing better than others… but everybody can be encouraged to use their voice… It is often more a case of ears tuning in to what comes out of your mouth.”

Audiences can hear Carol’s own lovely voice at her Fringe show Shakespeare and All That Jazz performed at St John’s with two pianist friends.

Carol believes performance is important for the choir too: “I think performing musicians have an educational role to play in bringing music to the public”, but adds: “I do understand that people can get nervous... so I try to make it more of a sharing.”

Gratifyingly the choir is now getting invitations, this year performing at the Cavendish Hospital to people with dementia. A rendition of Love Me Tender proved particularly moving. For Carol, the event “touched the patients to join in” and represented “something tangible” for them to share with loved ones even if communication was difficult at other times. The choir will also appear on BBC2’s Escape to the Country.

With around 30 people attending the Tuesday lunchtime sessions, the choir is clearly doing something right. Carol says singing offers a uniquely satisfying workout. “I think it’s got three things. It is physical. Real accomplished singers are quite athletic... and there are some mental things - remembering the words and the tunes - but there’s emotions too. That’s why it’s got a feel-good factor, because it engages all those three aspects of our lives.”