ONE is a choir with its roots in Victorian Bradford, and the other was founded in the city five years ago for refugees and asylum-seekers.

And now members from both choirs have joined forces on a digital collaboration to be premiered next month.

Bradford Friendship Choir, comprised of refugees, asylum-seekers and friends, is described as “a joyful singing sanctuary where diversity is celebrated in a friendly, safe environment.” The choir, founded in 2016, is supported by Bradford Festival Choral Society (BFCS), established in 1856.

The future of Bradford Friendship Choir (BFC) is looking bright, thanks to an Arts Council grant of £14,250. The funds will enable the choir to continue and to develop more community music-making projects.

Since the first lockdown in March 2020, the choir has been running online sessions, supporting members at home and making sure they stayed connected and could continue singing together.

“More recently, the choir has delivered the safe return of in-person sessions, starting with small numbers,” says BFCS trustee Karen Jones. “We first met up again two weeks ago, it was very moving. Choral singing is very important for emotional wellbeing. While it has been good to connect online in the pandemic, it means a lot to come together as a choir again.”

The focus of BFC is on welcoming and supporting refugees and people seeking asylum from across the world, and celebrating diversity through the power of song. It was founded as a branch of Bradford Festival Choral Society (BFCS), which has long had a mission to foster music appreciation, and spread the joy of singing, in wider communities.

In 2015, with a Bradford Council grant, BFCS organised One City, Many Voices, Bradford Sings! The event, part of Bradford Festival, saw 11 choirs singing over one weekend in city centre venues such as the Interchange and Kirkgate Market. BFCS used part of the grant to provide musical support for refugees and asylum-seekers at BIASAN (Bradford Immigration and Asylum Support and Advice Network), who sang at the festival with the support of their singing leader, Caroline Challis.

Caroline continued to work with a group of women at BIASAN, collecting songs from the countries they came from. Her successor, Fran Wyburn, went on to set up BFC in 2016, and it has grown and flourished ever since, with BFCS Trustees providing guidance and support.

There are more than 50 singers in BFC, from Syria, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Lebanon, Uganda, Nigeria, Iraq, Iran, Congo and Turkey. The choir’s ethos is: “To sing for joy, in a relaxed and fun way”.

“Every voice is welcome,” say members. “We sing uplifting songs, songs of peace, songs of joy, songs in English and other languages”.

Members learn songs by ear,and the choral singing helps some to learn English.

The choir is regularly invited to perform at venues and events across the UK, including the Great British Song Book at The Sage Gateshead. Closer to home, it has sung at Bradford Literature Festival, WOW (Women of the World) Festival, The Big Sing in Saltaire and a Born in Bradford conference.

“One highlight was a joint appearance with BFCS at a concert celebrating the re-opening of St George’s Hall in 2019,” says Karen. “We work in partnership with BFCS to make a positive contribution to the cultural life of our city.

“To commemorate the Arts Council grant, and this part of our shared journey, the choirs have collaborated to make video recordings of two songs chosen by the Friendship Choir. Jikelele is a South African celebration song and means ‘everywhere’ or ‘universal’. Here Is My Home is an American folk song traditionally sung at Thanksgiving.”

The recordings will be screened at BFCS’s Cloudburst concert, taking place at Bradford Grammar School in November.

“Everyone has done remote recordings, and our choir leader has been going to the homes of those who haven’t got access to video technology to record them singing,” says Karen. “It’s a lovely collaboration between a Victorian choral society and a refugee choir, with each recording blending different voices and styles.”

As well as the video screenings, Cloudburst will see the Bradford Festival Choral Society perform a programme that includes the Northern Lights inspired sound world of Eriks Esenvalds; Eric Whitacre’s Cloudburst; Indian and Western music blended in Reena Esmail’s TaReKiTa and Stephen Paulus’s The Road Home.

Cloudburst is at Price Hall, Bradford Grammar School, on Saturday, November 13 at 7.30pm. Tickets: https://bit.ly/3AxYP09

l Bradfordfriendshipchoir.com/bradfordfestivalchoralsociety.org.uk