Soulful. Joyous. Life-affirming.

Pop-up choirs (and more)

We run ‘pop-up’ choirs that last for just one day, feature indie/pop/soul/rock/ funk/world music, and are for everyone.

Make new friends, build community and feel the remarkable magic of joining our voices together.

No judgement or auditions

We create soulful, joyous and life-affirming events at which people of all ages and backgrounds can get involved in music-making.

We believe that the world needs more spaces for making music that are free from judgement and perfectionism.

Upcoming events

  • Choir in a Day

    NOW ON SALE!
    20th July 2024
    10.00 - 16.30
    St Barnabas, Jericho, Oxford

    Be part of a big group of people from all backgrounds making music in this amazing venue. No judgement, no auditions, no perfectionism.

    Book now

  • Artist Night

    Date TBC soon
    19.30 - 21.45

    Spend the evening sharing and shaping a beautiful song from a well known artist (to be confirmed shortly).

    For this event, we send out sheet music and the learning tracks in advance. You don’t need to be able to read music.

    Booking opens soon for this event.

  • Choir in a Day

    1st June 2024

    We are realy sorry to announce that this event was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

    Don’t worry, this is really rare for our events! All tickets have been refunded in full, but contact us if you need any further assistance.

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FAQs

General

  • We run joyous, soulful, accessible, positive and supportive spaces for people of all ages to engage with music and create freely.

    We believe that music is within every person, and that the world needs more opportunities for casual music-making free of judgment and perfectionism.

  • Although some of events do take place in a church, our events are NOT faith-based or religious in any way. We often (though not always) use churches as they are brilliant open spaces for musical groups with great acoustics; that’s the only reason.

  • The short answer: you. If you can talk, you can sing.

    The slightly longer answer: whether you’re an experienced singer or someone trying this for the very first time, all experience levels are welcome at a Riversong Collective event.

  • Our founder, Philip Read, currently leads Riversong Collective events, aided by a team of supportive and skilled facilitators.

    Philip has more than a decade’s experience of running open an collaborative singing events, studied contemporary choir conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in Aalborg, Denmark, and is an accomplished acapella singer. You can read more about him here: www.philipread.net.

    We’re also grateful to and inspired by the work of others doing similar work around the world, including the remarkable Gaia team in the US.

  • It’s amazing (and sad) how many people say those sorts of things to us. They’re just not true.

    There’s a place for everyone at a Riversong Collective event.

Choir in a Day

  • We start with some fun musical, social, warming up games.

    After this we learn the day’s songs together, and then work on the song as a whole.

    Remember that everyone is welcome - all experience levels are valued.

    Our ‘Choir in a Day’ sessions start at 10am and finish at 4pm. You get a big break for lunch in the middle, and lots of gaps for tea and coffee (provided free!)

  • We teach our singers using a ‘listen and repeat’ technique - we sing it, you sing it back, we build it up together.

    You’ll be amazed at just how quickly you will be singing beautiful songs in three or four part harmony.

  • Soul, indie, pop, gospel, jazz, folk, funk, traditional vocal music from around the world, and everything in between.

    But what connects everything we sing is that we hope it will move you - that’s your body, your heart - or ideally, both!

    Our songs are usually sung ‘acapella’ - meaning voices only, ie. we don’t sing with backing tracks or anything like that. We think the sound of voices alone is the most gorgeous way to do it.

  • Our ‘Choir in a Day’ events usualy run between 10am and 4pm. The location of the event is shown on the ticketing page.

  • Our ‘Choir in a Day’ events require no advance preparation at all - other than to book your spot! Just turn up on the day and we’ll give you everything you need.

  • Your Choir in a Day ticket gets you…

    • access to the full singing event throughout the day

    • free tea and coffee throughout the day

    Your Choir in a Day ticket does not include:

    • lunch. You have to provide that for yourself.

  • We passionately believe that no-one should be excluded due to affordability. For this reason we have multiple different pricing options designed to enable everyone to attend. Please see our individual event listings for specific prices.

  • Children of any age are welcome to at end so long as they are able and willing to participate fully in the singing event. However, any children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Artist nights

  • Our ‘Artist nights’ are a little different to our ‘Choir in a Day’ sessions, as for the Artist nights we advertise the artist and song, and send out scores and learning tracks, all in advance.

    Singers attending an ‘Artist night’ will need to have spent time in advance learning the song. We won’t be teaching the parts in detail on the night; only shaping the song and enjoying the magic of singing it together. Alternatively if you’re a good music reader, you have the option of sight reading at the event if you don’t want to prepare.

  • We passionately believe that no-one should be excluded due to affordability. For this reason we have multiple different pricing options (including some very cheap esigned to enable everyone to attend. Please see our individual event listings for specific prices.

  • What does my ticket include?

    Your ticket gives you access to whole singing event, plus free tea, coffee and biscuits throughout the day.

  • Yes - unlike our ‘Choir in a day’ events, for our ‘Artist nights’ we send out both scores and learning tracks in advance. The aim is to spend the evening working on shaping the song and the experience together, so this does mean listening and learning in advance. You don’t have to read music though - the learning tracks will give you everything you need.

    And if you’re fortunate enough to be a music reader - not that that is required! - you’ll be able to sing from the music on the evening.

  • Artist Nights usually run between 7.30pm to 9.45pm. The location of the event is shown on the ticketing page.

  • Prices for the Artist Nights are shown on the ticketing page.