The Blend Choir hits all the right notes

Located in beautiful Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, is Wharf Lane, our collection of desirable one and two-bedroom homes offering an enviable lifestyle in a thriving community.

A big part of the community there is The Blend Choir, a sociable singing group which welcomes everyone with a passion for music in the area.

We caught up with Laura Ruocco, Founder and Musical Director at The Blend Choir, to find out more about the origins of the group.

Hi Laura, can you us about your background and reasons for starting The Blend Choir?

I’ve been passionate about singing and dancing from a young age, taking part in school shows / pantos and eventually going on to study at drama school. I used to teach singing at Stagecoach and it was here that a dance teacher suggested I start a choir. After putting the feelers out there for a few months, I decided to launch the Blend Choir in January 2013 and the rest is history! Since then, we’ve grown in number and still have many of the original members with us today.

In 2015 I then opened two more choirs in Uxbridge and London followed by our latest choir, Princes Risborough, in 2019. I started the choirs to provide somewhere for local singers to go once a week to sing, socialise and have fun and I believe that's exactly what we do!

What kind of performances do you do? 

We bring all four choirs together to perform two concerts a year (summer and Christmas) and all members are invited to perform regularly at various other events. We have been lucky enough to perform at The Olivier Awards, West End Live, The Ideal Home Show, The London A Cappella Festival and even at Disneyland Paris for its Christmas show 'Let's sing Christmas' which was an amazing experience. 

Have you been able to continue over lockdown?

Yes! As soon as we found out we were going into lockdown in March last year, we joined Zoom and have rehearsed online every week since. We've actually been working in vocal groups (rather than individual choirs) for most of this time which has been great as it's given the choirs a chance to mix and get to know each other more (rather than just at our concerts/gigs) which has been a really lovely bonus. 

I'm so thankful that the majority of our members have been able to attend online and have persevered as it's definitely not always been easy staying motivated, given the circumstances. We even had a Christmas party online with karaoke, games and awards which was a really fun way to end last year but needless to say, we can't wait to get together again in person.

Do you have any performances planned for this summer?

We are really hoping to go ahead with our summer concert at the end of July as we of course had to cancel both concerts last year which was so disappointing. We're keeping everything crossed and know that if it does go ahead, it will be a magical night!

What are the benefits of singing?

Singing has been proven to have many health benefits, both physically and psychologically. Many of our members find the rehearsals help with de-stressing or turning their mood around after a hard day. For some, it can be a release if they're going through something difficult, and it's a great way to build confidence and make new, supportive friends. Our members often refer to the choirs as the 'Blend family' as that's exactly the sense of community and belonging it provides. 

For more information on The Blend Choir and how to get involved, visit www.theblendchoir.co.uk or email [email protected]. We always welcome new members with open arms!

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Discover your dream Wharf Lane home by contacting the team on [email protected] or 01628 918 145.