Who are Stream of Sound?
We are an acappella choir of enthusiastic singers who mainly aged 12 to 25. We meet every Tuesday during term time and spend an hour learning basic repertoire, followed by another hour for more experienced singers who are committed to giving performances of a high standard. We are led by Caroline Price who believes strongly that there is a singer in everyone, and an important part of the way we work is that older singers share their expertise with younger ones. Visitors have always remarked on how closely people of different ages work together.
The choir was formed eight years ago after hearing the American choir Northern Harmony. We started with just a dozen people, but today there are usually around fifty singers at our rehearsals on Tuesdays. We also run highly popular ’Singing Days‘ (workshops to encourage others to sing) and hold two ‘residentials’ every year, following each with a concert tour. During these, the choir members learn an entirely new repertoire in the stunning grounds of Dunfield House, Wales, after which we tour the West Midlands, always culminating in a final performance at Elmfield School, Stourbridge — the home of Stream of Sound!
Since appearing on Aled Jones’ prestigious BBC Radio 3 programme "The Choir" and running the vocal workshops for teens at the Sidmouth Folk Week last year, we’ve been rehearsing for our production of ‘The Beggar’s Opera’, which was really the first ever hit musical! Written in London, in 1728 as a reaction to Handel’s operas, and to satisfy the ordinary people’s need for entertainment that they could relate to, our mission is to bring it back to a folk audience. We also have lots of new songs in our repertoire to share with you!
There is a singer in everyone… older singers share their expertise with younger ones.
What do we sing?
Well, we started with hymns of the early American settlers (known as shape note hymns) with their strong harmonies and fuguing sections. From there we moved onto vibrant African church and folk songs. We discovered the haunting harmonies of Bulgarian and Eastern European traditions and then the excitement of the ancient three-part songs from the Caucasian Republic of Georgia.
Having explored the world a little, we then started looking for our own traditions and were soon involved in exploring the pre-Victorian West Gallery hymns as well as the wealth of folk songs from these islands. Nowadays we also include Gospel, Jazz Standards, Blues, and Renaissance Madrigals… in fact, anything else that is fun to sing in harmony!
Although we do use written music, we also learn by ear and we always perform from memory. We’ve sung in all sorts of places from festivals with audiences of hundreds, to tiny churches with small congregations and all have been great fun!
Overall, we believe in keeping these singing traditions alive, passing our experience down to the younger generations, so that they may enjoy it as much as we have.
I just love their energy, passion, sheer joy… you simply can’t help being swept away.
Aled Jones, BBC Radio 3
