Sheffield Choir Director (pilot project – 4 months)

The Choir with No Name (CWNN) run choirs involving people affected by homelessness across England and Wales. We were founded on the premise that singing with others makes you feel good; it distracts you from all the nonsense in life and helps you to build confidence, skills and genuine, long-lasting friendships. Each choir gets together to rehearse every week and share a meal together at the end of rehearsal, welcoming everyone, regardless of background, characteristics or idiosyncrasies.  We want everyone involved in the Choir with No Name to feel they belong in our community. 

The Sheffield Choir pilot is being established in partnership with the Archer Project and Sheffield Cathedral, who support homeless and vulnerable people in Sheffield. Rehearsals will take place every Wednesday evening at 6.30pm at Sheffield Cathedral. Our rehearsals follow the usual Choir with No Name format of tea, biscuits and a chat before rehearsal, then 1 ½ hours of joyful singing (mostly pop and rock, arranged for mixed ability in 3- and 4-part harmony) followed by a free hot meal for members. Splendid!

We are committed to co-production. Co-production means that people with lived experience of homelessness work alongside others to deliver all aspects of our work. Our Sheffield Choir Director (pilot) will be vital in helping us achieve this aim, working alongside choir members, taking feedback from members on song choices, and developing approaches to choir leadership that involve members.

The Sheffield Choir pilot aims to run for three months (12 weeks) with space either side for training and evaluation. We hope to be able to continue the pilot beyond the 12 weeks and are actively fundraising to make the Sheffield Choir a permanent fixture in the Sheffield cultural scene.

The role

We are looking for a Choir Director to develop and lead the Sheffield Choir through the pilot project. You will lead the choir on a weekly basis from Sheffield Cathedral.  You will have experience and/or an understanding of coproduced projects and working alongside people who live with vulnerabilities in their lives.  You will also be able to work from your own initiative and have confidence in leading alongside members. You will co-lead the choir alongside our Sheffield Choir Manager, who will coordinate a range of non-musical aspects of choir and also lead on delivering approximately two gigs during the pilot. There are also opportunities to lead on community workshops in homelessness services on an ad-hoc basis in order to spread the Choir with No Name love.