The Sussex choir where music and friendships are made

And after an evening spent at one of their weekly rehearsals, I could see exactly what she meant.

There’s a real feeling of camaraderie in the room, a sense of people coming together to enjoy singing while doing some good in the world.

The Buskerteers Choir was set up in Essex in 2019 by Andrew Small, with the aim of raising £1million for charitable causes through choir performances. The organisation now has 28 choirs, including four in Sussex run by choir leader Katherine Stewart.

Katherine runs choirs in Haywards Heath, Crawley, Brighton and Hove and the Worthing group I attended, which meets on Wednesday evenings at Queen Street Church in Queen Street.

She said: “For a lot of people who join, I think our USP is raising money for good causes. There are also no auditions, no sheet music, we have mixed abilities and everybody is welcome to come and try it out with a free taster session.

"Most people who come are friendly and outgoing, keen to meet other people and enjoy singing together. We welcome everybody, whether they have sung before or this is their first time.”

The Worthing choir launched a year ago and currently has 47 members. They perform three times a year, at the end of each term, in venues ranging from supermarkets to the Royal Pavilion. So far, the Buskerteers choirs across the UK have raised almost £200,000, with organisations such as Care for Veterans, the British Heart Foundation and Breast Cancer Now benefitting.

Katherine had previous run a community choir and said when she saw this job advertised it was a dream as it combined her two favourite things – singing and raising money for charity.

Her passion for the choir is obvious, and her enthusiasm is infectious. As she bopped around on her guitar and taught the group the first song of their new term, Jump by The Pointer Sisters, it was easy to see why her members love her so much. They had even prepared testimonial sheets to show me just how much they valued the choir and the feeling of belonging it them.

Comments included this one from Nicky: “After trauma, I needed something to make new friends and feel like I belonged, and singing has helped my lungs with COPD. Katherine is an enthusiastic, fun and knowledgeable leader. I’m so proud to be in her choir – life-changing.”

And from Dawn: “I have learnt that many voices make beautiful sounds. You can’t hide yourself when you sing. It’s one of the purest forms of self-expression. It definitely makes me feel happy.”

I also chatted to three women who have made friends through the Buskerteers. Ann Watts joined after she lost her husband and said: “To me, it’s about so much more than music. I’ve made new friends, which has been lovely, and the idea of giving back is so important, too.

"Whether that’s through the money we collect for charity, or when we perform somewhere like a care home and you can see the residents’ faces light up, it’s wonderful to be a part of.”

Her friend Dawn Parks added: “You come along and sometimes you feel tired after a long day at work, but you’re so glad you did. You leave on a complete high and it’s the best night sleep I have every week.”

And Jane Dennis said: “I genuinely feel like I can’t sing, but when all our voices are together we actually sound really good. Everyone is so friendly and we feel like we’ve known each other for ages. I’ve never missed a week, apart from when I was on holiday.”

After a few warm up exercises, Katherine teaches each song for the three different voice types in the choir – soprano, alto and bass.

They each practice a small part of the song, before coming together as one. It’s so impressive how quickly a verse can be learned – even when it has challenging ‘slides’ or range – and how great all the parts sound when brought together as a whole.

Time went really quickly, and I can see why almost 50 people were keen to leave their homes on a drizzly, dark Wednesday evening to be part of something so wholesome and rewarding.

They sing a wide range of songs, old and new and from all genres, with the next one to learn being Blinding Lights by The Weeknd.

Anyone can book a free taster at any of the choirs at any time in the term. Just go to https://www.buskerteerschoir.com/book-a-free-trial-session.