Local and Vocal...
"for the joy of singing..."
New members are always welcome. Contact us at raiseyourvoiceswirksworth@gmail.com or go to our How to Join page
News and Events 2026
Next concert - our annual FREE drop-in Gig at St Mary's Church Wirksworth on Saturday 12th September 2026. Click on Read More to the Festival Events programme for details and then...scroll down for more....
News and Events 2026
We enjoyed performing our concert The River Runs and much as it was a bit of a squash in in the heat, we believe it was a great success after receiving so many kind compliments and loud applause from 118 audience members who turned up despite high temperatures and the wide variety of other events taking place in the area.
A big thank you goes to Derek Twigg, the church warden and members of the church support team who made sure everything was spot on for our performance requirements in the lovely venue. We wish Belper every success with the rest of the activities happening in the town until the end of the year for the Belper 250 celebrations... we were delighted to be part of them.
Photos from kind friends and family members in the audience
RYV, ready to rehearse for our next major concert on Saturday 27th June 2026 in Christ Church, Belper | 7.30pm
Here we are after the AGM, in April 2026 at Wellspring Wirksworth, our usual rehearsal venue, and about to crack on with the performance programme for "The River Runs" in Belper as part of the "Belper 250" celebrations, A tribute to Jedediah Strutt and the mills which made Belper famous.
Musical director, Lester Simpson, will lead Raise Your Voices choir in a performance of combined elements from some of his previous musical projects; a millennium CD celebrating Belper’s history, commissioned by Belper Town Council, and music composed for two short films for Milford’s ‘Maypole Promotions’.
Tickets from TicketSource and www.raiseyourvoicesww.com
booking fees may apply. £10 per person. Available mid May .
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Photos courtesy of Phil Richards April 2026
Our singing year began in January 2026
We were delighted to have a visiting choir leader for the January sessions at Wellspring as usual.
We welcomed Sarah Matthews back to lead us until Lester's return in February after his annual holiday in warmer climes... and we all loved having her to teach us new songs and share musical tips and titbits!.
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Sarah is a professional folk musician and singer, playing the fiddle, viola, light percussion and tenor guitar. A composer, improviser, song-writer teacher, workshop-leader, dancer and teacher; she is passionate and enthusiastic, and enjoys sharing her music and singing with others.
Snippets from RYV's future plans in 2026
Raise Your Voices performs again in St Marys Church Wirksworth on Saturday the 12th of September at 12 noon as part of the Wirksworth Festival. This will be a FREE ‘drop in’ concert of approximately 45 minutes giving the public the chance to not only enjoy a varied selection of songs in harmony from the choir, but at the same time appreciate the exhibits of festival art works on display in the church and find refreshments on sale in the pop up café area.
On Saturday 17th October, 10am-4pm, Raise Your Voices is hosting another harmony workshop day with renowned choir leader, composer and singer Carolyn Robson, to lead a day of harmony singing and vocal techniques. No experience necessary, just the desire to enjoy a friendly and fulfilling day of singing in the comfortable, light and airy Wellspring Church. Previous years have all been sold out in advance so please ensure that you book early!
Tickets £15 per person online from TicketSource and via www.raiseyourvoicesww.com. to be released for sale in August .
A small booking fee will apply. Hot and cold drinks included at breaktimes.
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Now there’s just enough time to write your letter to Santa before Raise Your Voices annual concert of carols and winter songs at 7.30pm in St Marys Church, Wirksworth, on Saturday 19th December.
Tickets £12 per person online from TicketSource and via www.raiseyourvoicesww.com Choir sessions are on most Thursday evenings from 7-9pm at The Wellspring Church, St John’s Street Wirksworth. £5 per singer per session.
Lester says: “All are welcome, no auditions, no previous experience required. We just love to sing, so why not pop in one evening and give it a try, you’ll be amazed how good it makes you feel!!” More details on the website how to join page at www.raiseyourvoicesww.com and on Facebook.
And of course we may well have some occasional more informal 'jollies' along the way, such as a Ride Your Velocipedes outing around Carsington Water for singers who cycle, ending up at the pub for lunch and a singalong session in the open air, plus the odd summer event such as 'Gigs in Gardens ' and we hope we shall be joining The Nightingales residents choir at Waltham House Wirksworth to sing carols at Christmas. We love invitations to sing, and often simply ask that our costs are covered.
