Author Archives: Martinpen

No NATO choir, Newport, 30 August

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Main Demo

The demo will assemble at 13.00 for 14.00 start.
Hopefully there will be large numbers on the demo, there could be parking problems, train would be a good alternative as it is right in the centre of the city.

No NATO Choir

For those who come early,we as a choir will be singing for a short while from 12.00 to 12.30 in the city centre.
Then move to the steps of the law courts for a massed sing from 13.00 till 13.45.
We will then move to a point on the demo to sing when the march arrives.

Proposed Songs

  1. I want to have a little bomb like you
  2. We Shall Overcome
  3. Not in my name
  4. Stand up, make your choice
  5. Bambelela
  6. Ain’t gonna study war
  7. The war machine
  8. NATO, NATO, money down the drain
  9. Ye’ll no sit here
  10. One song, one dance
  11. Big Society
  12. Freedom come all ye

Events during the next week

Cor Cochion have a list for those who wish to stay overnight or maybe longer, for there are many events planned over the following week.

Street Choirs Festival 2014: Hebden Bridge 11-13 July

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This year’s Street Choirs Festival will be in Hebden Bridge over the second weekend in July.

Please use the comment area below to propose, plan and discuss Campaigning Choirs Network activity (not the event itself – see official website below). Already proposed:

  • A stall – we’ll need handouts and sign up lists
  • A board with events to add to the website
  • A Workshop at the festival

Of course proposing them is just the first step – they’ll need booking and organising too!

Links:

Official festival website: streetchoirs2014.wordpress.com/

Burnley May Day Rally, 5 May 2014

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East Lancs Clarion Community Choir will be singing at this event – possibly the last Council funded Burnley May Day Rally.

We welcome all singers from our region who’d like to come & sing with us on the March & busking in the Park. See comments below for a sing-along songsheet.

MAY DAY March & Rally (5th May 2014)
· 11:30 Assemble Victoria Car Park, BB11 1DD behind the Burnley Mechanics building
. 12:00 March

Then at Towneley Park, BB11 3RQ
· 1pm tbc – Stage Set
· 2pm onwards Busking round Park
· 3pm Set @ Offshoots

Please use the comment area below to propose, plan and discuss Campaigning Choirs Network activity (not the event itself – see official website below).

National Demonstration and Free Festival: No More Austerity, London, 21 June 2014

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The Peoples Assembly is calling a National Demonstration No More Austerity – Demand The Alternative in central London on 21 June.

London choir Raised Voices have a page dedicated to choirs coming together to sing for the event: No Austerity! Campaign Choirs singing together.  This includes a songsheet and sources for words and music.

Follow @CampaignChoirs if you use twitter.

Please use the comment area below to propose, plan and discuss Campaigning Choirs Network activity (not the event itself – see official website below).

General information (not specifically choir related):

Assemble 1pm, BBC HQ, Portland Place, London W1A 1AA (Tube: Oxford Circus) for the March to Parliament. The demonstration will be followed by a free festival in Central London. See the official festival website for latest info, posters, etc. www.ThePeoplesAssembly.org.uk/national_demo_21_june

12 October Liverpool: National demo ‘against fascism – celebrating not dividing’

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MarchAgainstFascismGuillotine11-13632-cUnite is organising this and will be joined by Unison, GMB, PCS, CWU, NUT, RMT, Trade Union Friends of Searchlight and the TUC.  Unite and some of the other organisations are arranging coaches from the regions.

Full details here. Speakers, etc. here.

Liverpool Socialist Singers say:

“We’re meeting at 12 near the monument at the top of William Brown Street, it should be easy to find us as we will all be wearing red and will have our banner with us. Everyone is welcome to sing out with us against fascism!

“William Brown Street is near Lime Street and Central stations, and the coach station. It is the street with the Walker Art Gallery and Central Library in it.

“We will be going with the flow and singing at the beginning and then probably near or at the end too.”

liverpool-so-singers-bannerYou can download and print the songsheet that Liverpool Soocialist Singers created for the day, and they will have some spares with them.  All good demo songs with catchy tunes and some with words adapted for the event.

All: Please use our contact form to comment on this article with any (choir related) suggestions, or comment below (you’ll need to register and/or sign in). And don’t forget #CampaignChoirs and @CampaignChoirs on twitter.

Peace Songs for Choirs from MAW for 2014

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As the centenary of the start of WW1 approaches, Sue Gilmurray is producing a free resource of peace songs (7 her own, and 7 by others) for choirs for 2014.  Links to lyrics, scores and audio extracts are on the Movement for the Abolition of War homepage.

Sue says “I am a singer and songwriter.  Though between choirs right now, I sometimes sing with Raised Voices in London.  I am currently contacting as many community choirs as possible to tell you about a project, under the auspices of MAW, to provide a free resource of 14 songs for choirs for 2014

“As people mark  the centenary of WWI, we’d like to provide choirs with a variety of songs, some strongly anti-war, some simply pro-peace, that can help to nudge the events in a peaceful direction.

“I’d love to hear from you if you have any comments, and especially if you feel you can make use of this resource [use the MAW contact form]. Please pass the word around!”

29 September: Tell the Tory conference – national march and rally

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The themes for this major protest organised by TUC are Save Our NHS, Defend Jobs and Services, No Austerity. Other sponsors include The Peoples Assembly; Unite The Union. Spread the word!

Choirs – gather at 12 noon at the junction of Deansgate and John Dalton Street (Streetmap | Google Maps).
There are some song sheets*- mostly updated words for familiar tunes – contact us for details.
Please comment on this post if you have further information for choirs and singers participating in the event (you may need to register – please contact us if you have problems).

Your union may be organising transport

* Songs in the song sheets:

  • We’ll Stop You – to the tune Hanging on the Old Barbed Wire (“If you think we’ll pay our taxes / for nothing in return …”)
  • Rise by Grace Petrie (“… as the reckoning draws near / there’s plenty more of us than you here …”)
  • From Sing Along with Liverpool Socialist Singers songsheets
    • Tory Boys Picnic
    • Fat Cat
    • Wave bye-bye to PFI
    • Which side are you on?
    • Oh Mr Cameron
    • Tory Toffs tune: John Brown’s body
    • Bandiera Rossa
    • The Internationale
    • Axe the Bedroom Tax (in our Liverpool homes)
    • Roll the union on
    • Siya Hamba
  • From Raised Voices songsheets
    • Power in the union
    • We will fight on
    • Are we gonna take it lying down
    • Save our public services
    • Tory Toffs
    • Tory boys picnic
    • Bella ciao
    • We will rise

Belt it out at Balcombe –

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Call for singers and choirs against fracking – Sunday 22nd September

Posted on behalf of from NVPN members.

There is something really big happening in the south-east of England (as well as all over the country and the world) that singers from all over the UK have become involved in. The proposed Fracking (or hydraulic fracturing) would have a serious effect on our water table, and there are a lot of things being done to try and prevent this catastrophic pollution of the clean water of our country. I have been asked to lead hundreds, if not thousands, of people in song together in the small village of Balcombe, where test drills are taking place. This is promising to be a massive event with huge press coverage and we need the help of NVPN members and singers across the nation to come and raise our voices in harmony together as a powerful peaceful demonstration. Here is a video of the last Belt It Out At Balcombe – there were only 500 people there but there is huge energy being put in to collecting many hundreds more choir members and singers to join us.

The next Belt It Out At Balcombe is on Sunday 22nd September, and we are asking all choir leaders and practitioners to bring as many of their choirs and groups as they can to sing. This is such an important thing to do – if this land’s natural spring water is polluted with the thousands of chemicals they plan to pump into the ground (just to extract small amounts of shale for oil) we will all rely on processed water sold to us by water companies for survival.

So, choir leaders, if you could forward this info to your groups and make an announcement at your next session we could really gather such a fantastic mass of incredible voices. The last one was an exquisite day and very amazing to be part of.

The protest site is a five minute walk from Balcombe train station. The official event starts at 2pm, and lasts until 4pm, but there’s unofficial singing and celebration of life happening from midday. My Glastonbury Festival Choir will be there all dressed in red – it would be great if all your choirs wanted to dress in red as well, and I may just use you as ‘strong singer beacons’ in the crowd!

Thank you all so much for your support and helping to protect this beautiful Earth.”

Natural Voice Practitioners’ Network.

National Demonstration – No Attack on Syria

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Following yesterday’s emergency protest, CND and The Stop The War Coalition call for a National Demonstration demanding “NO ATTACK ON SYRIA” in London on Saturday 31 August.  Assemble , 12 noon, Temple Place (nearest tube Temple) for a march via Parliament and Downing Street, ending in central London for a political rally to say No attack on Syria.

If you have information about, or can organise some appropriate choir action for the event at this short notice, please comment on this post.

And if you can just be there, please do!