Singing for Pleasure

A few ladies in the Merkinch Community Centre asked if they could form a singing group – which was not a choir, but just a get together and sing - so Singing for Pleasure was born.

And that’s what they did….

Singing for PleasureThe group began on Tuesday 6th May 2002 with eight ladies who sat in the comfy dralon chairs and Elsie Normington set up her keyboard.  She had made up a little photocopied sheet of Scottish songs and asked them to sing along.

Elsie was determined that they would enjoy their singing sessions, so each week she introduced another interesting angle to the session, such as: 

  • Singing scales and arpeggios
  • Clapping in time and learning to clap on a syncopated rhythm
  • Little bits of poetry about the weather etc. which they had to memorise, then clap to, and then eventually create a little tune around the poem and improvise
  • New songs sheets of different styles of music. The folder how has over 300 songs

Singing for PleasureThere are 35 members in Singing for Pleasure and they have had an ongoing waiting list for four years.  The group enjoy their weekly sing along and have sung at a wide range of venues:  Nursing homes / Churches / Christmas parties / Prison / Fundraising events / Shopping Malls and at the big Christmas Lights switch on at the Town House in 2006. Click here to hear what some of the group say about Singing for Pleasure (Windows media Audio/Video file 6.6mb)

The most recent significant achievement has been getting through the hundreds of choirs in the “Last Choir Standing” a new competition run by the BBC.  On the 8th May 2008 the group were flown for an audition with 60 other choirs to Cadogan Hall in Sloane Square, Central London for a prestigious audition with a famous choir Judge.


Last year we produced a Souvenir Edition Booklet all about "Singing for Pleasure" - click here to open or download a copy (.pdf file 3.9mb)