National Men United in Song project, 2024
In 2024 with funding from Arts Council England, Peterborough Male Voice Choir mentored four UK MVCs - Radcliffe-On-Trent, Worcester, Northampton, Welwyn Garden City and Carlton Male Voice Choirs - through its tried-and-tested project-based recruitment programme. As part of this initiative, six online training sessions were given addressing various aspects of the process including: print media and press releases, social media, radio interviews, fundraising and equality diversity and inclusion, as well as an overview of the process by Will Prideaux, director of Peterborough Sings!
“A fantastic project that got a totally mixed bag of “blokes” singing as an amazing unit. I learnt so much from this experience…!”
On Saturday 25th May 2024 over four hundred specially-recruited men – most of whom had never sung before – raised their voices together at an extraordinary charity event at Nottingham’s Albert Hall.
The event marked the conclusion of a national singing project – Men United in Song – funded by Arts Council England and delivered by Peterborough Sings! and Peterborough Male Voice Choir, who mentored and supported four partner choirs - Northampton, Worcester, Radcliffe-on-Trent and Welwyn Garden City male voice choirs - through their tried-and-tested pop-up project aimed to get men singing, with spectacular results!
Men United in Song is the brainchild of Peterborough Male Voice Choir which has run the project in support of charity partner Prostate Cancer UK annually since 2014 (except in 2020 due to Covid), introducing literally hundreds of local men to the challenges, joys and benefits of group singing over the last decade.
As part of the national Men United in Song project brave men of all ages, from all walks of life and from diverse cultural, social and economic backgrounds stepped up to the challenge and learned to sing, between them raising nearly £100k in sponsorship for Prostate Cancer UK.
Preparing and rehearsing for the event over ten weeks with their respective choirs and local music teams, they all put in many hours of hard work, dedication and individual preparation, and the massed event in Nottingham was a celebration of them and of their achievements both personally and collectively.
For most of them, Men United in Song was their very first experience of singing as part of a group - and in public - and we hope that the project will be the beginning of an exciting and rewarding singing journey for everyone who took part.
“...one of the most positive and joyous professional experiences I’ve had... this project has given the choir new life and purpose ”
“... far exceeded my expectations. My confidence and outlook have improved immensely. I will definitely continue singing in future!”
Men United in Song 2024 was widely featured in local and national media across the UK including the London Evening Standard, the Daily Record, The Independent and ITV News…
Watch the National Men United in Song perform…
The massed Men United in Song performances were recorded live and can be watched individually in the videos below: these have proved enormously popular with ‘Bring Him Home’ top of the leaderboard, with over 100k views!
Our feedback…
Meet our pop-up workplace choir…
As part of their Men United in Song community outreach, for the first time this year the Peterborough Sings! and Peterborough Male Voice Choir team have worked with a corporate partner on the project – EUK5 Amazon Fulfillment – running a pop-up workplace choir on site during their working day to allow those for whom shift work might be a barrier to participation to get involved in the project. They performed as part of the Peterborough Men United in Song project choir locally at Peterborough Cathedral and at the national event in Nottingham and we were delighted to have them on board and thank them for their contribution!
