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Blog

🌹 🎶 Taking Pride in Your Voice  

 

 
Dear Friend

🌹 🎶 June Singing 🎶 🌹
Welcome to this month's newsletter
Featuring...

🌹 🎶June Blog - Taking Pride in Your Voice 🌹 🎶
In celebration of Pride Month we claim the power of healthy pride and
charge up our roar with coaching from the late, great Tina Turner. 
Plus...
 The Singing Yeah! Song - something silly to make you smile :)

🌹 🎶 Places to charge up your Singing Pride this month 🌹 🎶
 Midsummer Melodies Concert with Welcome Choir & Cambria Choir on 22nd June @ All Saints Tooting, part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe
Many Voices Celebrate Pride Month with LGBTQIA+ singing group (+allies) 25th June, 1.30-3.00pm Essex Church
The Show Must Go On - workshop hosted by Dartford Township Choir 8th July, 10:30am-5pm Spital Street Methodist Church, Dartford DA1 2DX
Singing Picnic 13th August 1-4pm @ St John the Evangelist, SE19 2UP - relaxed singing fun on a summer afternoon 
Turning Point Magazine - Summer Issue Out Now! Yay!
Vocal Revolution Coaching - unleash your roar!
Rose on the Road - are you outta (London) town -
would you like a singing experience for your choir/group?

Do grab a cuppa and read all about it - thanks for tuning in! 
Pic: a rainbow sunset from a recent adventure in Brighton

🌹 🎶 Taking Pride in Your Voice 🎶 🌹
What have you done today to make you feel proud? - Heather Small - Proud

If we rustle around in the roots of the word Proud we find the Old French, Latin, Norse and English words prud /prouz meaning 'splendid, magnificent, stately, fine, brave, valiant, advantageous, forward, noble.'  
Healthy pride is a joyful feeling of celebration of the best in ourselves and each other - not just our achievements, but who we are at our core.

Many of us were told not to be 'too much' or 'too loud' or get 'too big for our boots.'  As a result, we learned to play small and quiet and to push away recognition and reward in case it made us 'big-headed.'  
Healthy pride empowers us to think, speak, sing and act expansively, drawing strength from our gifts and achievements and gleaning wisdom from our flaws and challenges. As such, pride is not a fixed state but an ongoing (r)evolution. 

On the flipside, hubris is unhealthy, over-exaggerated pride which proceeds not from real achievements or abilities, but from the drive for power - a certain pandemic partying Prime Minister comes to mind. Rather than an ego-driven smash-n-grab race to the bottom, a healthy sense of pride motivates us to do and be our best in service of the world around us.    
"Pride can be good for us, hubris is dangerous and humility is key to grounded confidence and healthy relationships." - Brene Brown

Owning Pride: list 10 values you hold dear, 10 compliments you've received and 10 moments you felt proud.
Collective Connective Pride
"There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about." - Margaret J Wheatley, American Author, Educator, Speaker
Just as prides of lionnesses hunt and raise their young together, in purposeful groups we can build collaborative, collective pride which ripples out in creative, connective contribution.
Raising a multitude of rainbow voices and born after the Stonewall riots in 1970, Pride marches now take place in 102 countries often in the face of persecution - homosexuality is criminalized in 64 countries. Sharing powerful messages of inclusivity, tolerance and empowered self-expression, Pride is a proud party and a powerful protest, pioneering a glorious celebration of rainbow diversity. 
Building Collective Pride: what simple positive action can you take today to contribute to a group, community or another person?
 
Roaring Pride
"I am proud to have played a part in clearing that path for women of the next generation - and the next," - Tina Turner
RAH! Lions have a special set of vocal anatomy - instead of triangular folds they have large, flat, square thick folds which convert lung power to roar power.  It's hard to imagine a lion worrying about being too big or too loud - roaring is just what they do, they were built for it. We too are built as sounding beings and we can look to the fearless lion/esses in our midst for inspiration.
Roaring Pride: warm up into your roar by yawning, stretching and sliding your voice then give it a go! RAAAHHH!
 
Tina Turner's roar shattered ceilings - after surviving domestic violence, she had her first solo No 1 aged 44. Crowned Queen of Rock n Roll, she faced down the racism of the music industry and blazed a trail that would be followed by Beyonce, Lizzo and those yet to come.   
Initially, Tina admits, she didn't like her voice, as she did not sound like Diana Ross.In her book Happiness Becomes You, she coaches us to overcome self-critical negative voices saying "it’s time to tell those voices you’ve heard their propaganda, and you’re not going to take it anymore. Dismiss them, and you will be the only one holding the pen as you write the story of your life.”  When we talk down the small voices of fear and follow our big-hearted roar we become simply the best.
Rose on the Road - getting the singing show out and about - would you like a workshop for your choir or community? - drop me a line 
Wishing you a radiant rainbow Pride Month
Look forward to seeing and singing with soon.
Be well, breathe deep and keep singing loudly!

katie@therosewindow.org
www.therosewindow.org
@katierosewindow on the Socials
Facebook
Twitter
Website
YouTube
🌹 🎶 The Singing - Yeah! Song
A short silly song about how great singing is - yeah! Easy SATB - good for warming up and celebrating the full spectrum of voices - from the highs to the lows! :) Arrangement available from: https://www.therosewindow.org/choral-arrangements
 

🌹 🎶Choir Calendar 🎶🌹

🌹 🎶Welcome Choir 🎶🌹
Warm, welcoming lively choir who laugh as much as they sing!
Thursdays 7.00-8.30pm, St John the Evangelist, Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX
First session free, then pay by term. More info Facebook Page
Next Concert: Midsummer Melodies @All Saints, Tooting

🌹 🎶Breathe Harmony NHS Staff Choir 🎶🌹
Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS staff choir run by Breathe Arts Health Research
Led by Musical Directors Mike King & Katie Rose More information

🌹 🎶  BLG Mind Wellbeing Choir🎶🌹
Led by Musical Directors Sarah Fisher & Katie Rose
Tuesdays 2.30-4pm, Azelia Hall, 258 Croydon Road, Beckenham, BR3 4DA

🌹 🎶 Carers Support Centre Choir 🎶🌹
Sing & Shine - Singing Respite Sessions for Carers. 
Weds 10.30-11.45am, Carers Support Centre, 24 George Street, CR0 1PG 
Free for Croydon Carers More information
Celebrating Carers Week June 5th - 1tth

🌹 🎶 Caterham Community Choir 🎶🌹
Co-Directed by Sarah Fisher & Katie Rose
Tuesdays 7-9pm, de Stafford School, Burntwood Lane, CR3 5YX Facebook Page
Join us for Afternoon Tea & Songs @ St Lawrences Church 23rd July.

🌹 🎶 HeartSong 🎶🌹
Happy heartwarming harmonies with Cardiac Friends & Co.
Bi-monthly Singing on Fridays 2-4pm, Holwell Village Hall, Pirton Lane, SG5 3SS

***

🌹 🎶 Choir Events 🎶🌹

🌹 🎶 The Show Must Go On 🎶🌹
Delighted to be leading a workshop hosted by 
Dartford Township Choir 8th July, 10:30am-5pm
Spital Street Methodist Church, 43 Spital St, Dartford DA1 2DX
We will be smashing Queen’s epic anthem in style, exploring and stretching our voices in a fun friendly atmosphere. More info

🌹 🎶 Sing for Water International 🎶🌹
Sunday September 17th @3pm
Due to funding cuts, sadly there won't be a large-scale Sing for Water London concert this year - instead, as the need for clean water still continues, we are holding a global tune-in - find out more and sign up here.

OUT NOW! - Summer Issue of TurningPoint: Your Lifestyle, Your-WellBeing

Themed A Woman’s Tenacity - Stepping Stones to Success, this issue is full of inspirational stories from women including lead singer of Shalamar, Caroline Griffey and ‘The Supreme Dream Team’ powering Soul Train/Solar Records - Jessie Tsang, Dina R Andrews and Sonia Damney.
There’s also wisdom from Music Legends Omar and Steve Collazo of Odyssey, plus tonnes of juicy summer tips on fashion, health and well-being.
READ & SUBSCRIBE HERE
So honoured to be a columnist - huge thanks to amazing Editor Esther Austin 🌟🤩💓
 
🌹 🎶 Vocal Revolution
Claim the joy, power and magic of your voice & creativity.
Bespoke coaching to bring on a revolution in your creative world.
For singers, songwriters & speakers and creatives on a mission...

Find out more
Book a free 20-minute consultation

"Katie has such a compassionate and encouraging approach and really helped me to connect into the bigger purpose of the what and why!” - Steph Turner, Artist & Facilitator
Roaring Roses
Are you ready to ROAR?
Calling spirited singers to join a dynamic new ensemble celebrating the power and beauty of song.
Energising workshops to hone vocal skills and build a richly varied repertoire ready to perform in beautiful, resonant spaces with lots of lion-hearted creative camaraderie.
If you're passionate about vocal music, love performing, have an excellent ear for harmony and pick up fast by ear and/or read music do get in touch 

🌹 🎶 Magical May Singings 

 

Dear Friend  

🌹 🎶  Magical May Singings 🎶 🌹  
Happy May! Spring is doing its magical thing here in London, powdering the streets with floral blushes and puffing the tree branches full of blossom.   

On the Magic Singing Carpet this month...  
* Warmly inviting you to come and treat your ears to summer sounds at our  
 Midsummer Melodies Concert on 22nd June @ All Saints Tooting.  
*  Fly over the rainbow with us at Many Voices in Pride Month 25th June  
Vocal Revolution Coaching Sessions - for deep sea divers on the search for pearls of wisdom and magical breakthroughs in their vocal expression.  
* The New Choir Term is blooming marvellously - come and sing!  
* Following a wonderful EarthDay sing of Resolution Song amongst the blossoms, I'm planning a summer Singing Picnic 13th August  

***  

🌹 🎶 3 Magical Things About Your Voice 🎶 🌹  
Magic comes from root words meaning "to be able, to have power."  
When I say I lead choirs, most people immediately declare "I can't sing" and make derogatory jokes about their voices. Yet as children we sang like birds and loved exploring the full range of our vocal capacities - we burbled, giggled, whooped, warbled freely, creating spontaneous songs and stories.  Life happens and our voice-bird can become caged unless/ until we are brave enough to open the door. In all life's distractions, dramas and dilemmas, whilst it's easy to forget, fortunately, it's also easy to remember that our voice is magical - so here's a little reminder! :)  

1. It's a Magical Anatomical Miracle  
There are so many incredibly intricate bodily processes involved in making sound. Our voice box/ larynx is a magical structure of cartilage and muscles, which houses our vocal folds, small but mighty structures which interrupt the airflow of our breath by opening and closing in rapid cycles  This happens a mindboggling 210 times per second in women and 125 per second in men to make just one vowel sound. Here's a video of a quartet of vocal folds!  

2. It's a Magical People Magnet  
Like bees humming in a hive, the word communication tells us that our voices bring us into unifying, common, shared experience.  
Singing widens our circles of connection - at choirs, people find long-lost friends, forge lifelong friendships and even marriages!  

3. It's a Magical Way to Change the World  
"I was long an activist before I became an artist.'” - Harry Belafonte  
 The late great Harry Belafonte, survived an abusive childhood to become a globally renowned activist-artist who campaigned alongside MLK in the Civil Rights Movement. He used his magical voice to break through barriers and contribute to many humanitarian causes including pioneering the massive charity single, We Are the World.    
We don't have to be a global celebrity to change the world - we can start in our corner by using our voices to befriend a dragon, stand up to a bully, share a kind word with a stranger or sprinkle a little loving magic  
in the ears of our beloveds.   

Abracadabra! What will you do next with your magical voice?
Out & About - I went to see the incredibly powerful opera   
Blue at the ENO with Esther Austin, Editor Extraordinaire of Turning Point Magazine (Summer Edition out soon!)   
Read my blog about it here  

Wishing you a Magical May!  
Look forward to seeing and singing with soon!  

Be well, breathe deep and keep singing loudly!  
 
@katierosewindow on the Socials  
katie@therosewindow.org  
www.therosewindow.org

 🌹 🎶Choir Calendar 🎶🌹  

🌹 🎶Welcome Choir 🎶🌹  
Warm, welcoming lively choir who laugh as much as they sing!  
Thursdays 7.00-8.30pm, St John the Evangelist, Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX  
First session free, then pay by term. More info Facebook Page  
Next Concert: Midsummer Melodies @All Saints, Tooting  

🌹 🎶Breathe Harmony NHS Staff Choir 🎶🌹  
Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS staff choir run by Breathe Arts Health Research  
Led by Musical Directors Mike King & Katie Rose More information

🌹 🎶  BLG Mind Wellbeing Choir🎶🌹  
Led by Musical Directors Sarah Fisher & Katie Rose  
Tuesdays 2.30-4pm, Azelia Hall, 258 Croydon Road, Beckenham, BR3 4DA

🌹 🎶 Carers Support Centre Choir 🎶🌹  
Sing & Shine - Singing Respite Sessions for Carers.   
Weds 10.30-11.45am, Carers Support Centre, 24 George Street, CR0 1PG   
Free for Croydon Carers More information

🌹 🎶 Caterham Community Choir 🎶🌹  
Co-Directed by Sarah Fisher & Katie Rose  
Tuesdays 7-9pm, de Stafford School, Burntwood Lane, CR3 5YX Facebook Page  
Join us for Afternoon Tea & Songs @ St Lawrences Church 23rd July.

🌹 🎶 HeartSong 🎶🌹  
Happy heartwarming harmonies with Cardiac Friends & Co.  
Bi-monthly Singing on Fridays 2-4pm, Holwell Village Hall, Pirton Lane, SG5 3SS  

🌹 🎶Special Events  🎶🌹  

🌹 🎶 Many Voices 🎶🌹  
June Singing Guest Session with Katie Rose   
Sunday 25th June @ Essex Church, 112 Palace Gardens Terrace, W8 4RT  
Come and sing for fun with LGBTQIA+ (and ally-friendly) group Many Voices.   
 £12 cash on the day- More info  

🌹 🎶 Sing for Water International 🎶🌹  
Sunday September 17th @3pm  
Due to funding cuts, sadly there won't be a large-scale Sing for Water London concert this year - instead, as the need for clean water still continues, we are holding a global tune-in - find out more and sign up here.  

Pictures below: Breathe Harmony in Concert with My Cool Singers on 22nd April

Sing for the Earth   
Thanks to all the singers who did such a fantastic job of learning and singing Resolution Song by Planet Resolution (SATB arr. Katie Rose)  
Here we are in the Meadow outside St John the Evangelist
🌹 🎶 Vocal Revolution  
Claim the joy, power and magic of your voice & creativity.  
Bespoke coaching to bring on a revolution in your creative world.  
For singers, songwriters & speakers and creatives on a mission...  

Find out more  
Book a free 20-minute consultation  

"Katie has such a compassionate and encouraging approach and really helped me to connect into the bigger purpose of the what and why!” - Steph Turner, Artist & Facilitator
Roaring Roses  
Are you ready to ROAR?  
Calling spirited singers to join a dynamic new ensemble celebrating the power and beauty of song.  
Energising workshops to hone vocal skills and build a richly varied repertoire ready to perform in beautiful, resonant spaces with lots of lion-hearted creative camaraderie.  
If you're passionate about vocal music, love performing, have an excellent ear for harmony and pick up fast by ear and/or read music do get in touch 
 

🌹 🎶 Blue - ENO Review 

Blue

ENO at the Coliseum, Sunday 23rd April

Review by Katie Rose with Esther Austin, Editor of Turning Point Magazine, whose review can be found here.

“Blue is my letter to the world, that never spoke to me. As a black man I want the world to know through this  letter, through my text, through my libretto in Blue that I have something to say and I’m hoping that everyone will pay attention.” - Tazewell Thompson, Librettist, speaking on a video by Dutch National Opera

 

“My hope is that the opera is impactful to the point that a person in the audience never forgets what they saw.” - Jeanine Tesori, Composer - interviewed in the ENO Programme

“How many more sons do we have to give?” - is the grief-stricken question left resounding through a tear-filled auditorium at the conclusion of Blue.  It hangs in the air from the start, inexorably tracking young black boy-man (Zwakele Tshabalala) and encircling his parents, an enterprising cafe-owner (Nadine Benjamin) and a black policeman, (Kenneth Kellogg) from his birth to his death at the hands of white police whilst protesting peacefully.  Three female friends act as Greek Chorus, delivering the damning pronouncement “thou shalt bring forth no black boys into this world,” at what should be a mother’s happy moment sharing news of her pregnancy.  Even when they respond to her pleas to bless her child, their wish for him to fly on “waxless wings” ominously references Icarus’s fateful fall from the sky.

First performed at the Glimmerglass Festival, New York in 2019, Tinuke Craig’s UK premiere sets the family home in a box within a circle, seemingly trapped within cycles of systemic oppression as images of the political and physical landscape of Harlem flicker around them.  Tesori’s jazz, blues, musical and spirituals infused themes and Thompson’s pain-soaked poetry ricochet and ripple out across the Coliseum in concentric circles.  Receiving the news mid-baseball match, the Father’s male friends envy his success producing a male heir, welcoming him to The Daddy Club as “the new warden of baby jail.”  His son later accuses him of being a prison warden at home and offers his wrists to be handcuffed as they grapple with the burden of intergenerational trauma.  The crooked arm of the awkward father holding his newborn becomes the desperate arms of a father trying to hold onto his teen son with what are shown to be tragically contradictory rules - “don’t wear a hoodie, make eye contact, don’t make eye contact” - as he finally surrenders him to the crooked arm of Jesus.

The worlds of women and men are shown to exist in distinct yet connected circles - as her grieving female friends sing heartrending eulogies for sons “hacked down”, Benjamin’s compelling Mother is shown lost in endless circles of grief, the set revolving around her.  Her distraught husband wrestles with his desire to avenge his son’s death in the Reverend’s office, the sloped floor pointing up his disorientation and the power imbalance between the two men.  The whole community come together for the funeral and whilst united by faith, their questions of a God who gave his only son and takes theirs are left unanswered.

Staggering out into the auditorium, the impact of the opera can be felt on many levels, including the diversity of the audience.  Traditionally, British Opera has been populated and policed by the white upper classes with highly formalised, exclusive social protocols.  In his foreword to Songs for the Red Army and Navy in 1941, Paul Robeson, who refused Opera roles, said the arts “have been cut off from the general life of the nation. They have become the source of enjoyment for a comparative few - a so-called elite - who feel that culture should be somewhat unapproachable except to their own understanding - and at times completely non-understanding - selves.” Choosing to sing songs of oppressed peoples in their own languages, in 1960 Robeson was the first singer to perform at Sidney Opera House - not for a rarefied audience but for construction workers building the foundations surrounded by scaffolding.

There has always been a dynamic, diverse, fluid vein of artistry challenging and widening the confines of the establishment.  In South London, innovative companies such as Pegasus Opera and the Black British Classical Foundation have pioneered access and opportunities for culturally diverse artists and audiences.  As the Black Rights Matter movement shines a scorching spotlight on institutionalised racism, cultural institutions are increasingly required by social justice and funding bids to become accountable and relevant to today’s artists and audiences.  ENO describe their own reckoning process and the changes they are implementing “to counteract the predominately white, male voices who currently act as gatekeepers.”  The searing voices of Blue's groundbreaking cast resonate with the voices of centuries of tenacious, talented, pioneering black artists and activists who have fought to take their place at the table - and all those who go unseen, unsung and unheard.  

As a white person, like the composer, I’m “visiting in this landscape.”  Amongst my white family are long-serving police officers and many of my closest friends are black, so I visit both worlds, watching, listening and learning as they collide.  Kellogg’s convincing portrayal of the complex conflicts of the Father rings true from the opening moments where he slowly dons his “blues,” literally taking on the powers and responsibilities which come with a police uniform.  As he goes “out to war” to face the worst of human behaviour, his wife’s fear that one day he might not come back is sharply recognisable, as is his grapple with the horrific betrayal of his faith in policing and justice.

Blue testifies to the unbearable burden for black communities living with continued abuse, injustice, surveillance, violence and the paralysing fear that one day their child might not come home.  I attend with Esther Austin, Editor of Turning Point Magazine, who describes “the amplified and unified grief because when you hear about somebody else’s son, their son is your son because you are have been forced together in this collective grief, time after time after time.”  Change, she says, becomes possible by “allowing ourselves to unpack the pain so that you get to a point where you recognise the experience, but the pain is no longer the driver.  You transfer the pain into something more powerful - maybe you set up your own campaign or something that can help.”   Whilst acknowledging that faith can help bring solace, she insists that “the fight has to continue in the physical and the whole system has to be dismantled.”   

Ultimately, Esther says, Blue shows us that we are all human beings, we all bleed the same way.”  The Reverend reminds the grieving father that the white policeman who shot his son is his brother, made as he is by the way the world is.  The opera is an indictment of the way the world is and an appeal to that most transformative and connective of forces in humanity - empathy.  In the foyer, a black woman tells me she was glad the lights were down so no one could see her crying - me too, I say.  Within the monumental grief at the heart of Blue, we hear the Son, as he flies out of the box, out of the circle on the fragile wings of hopeful activism, calling us to make a better world.

 

More info: https://www.eno.org/whats-on/blue/

Read Esther's Review here: https://www.estheraustinglobal.biz/post/review-of-blue-a-generational-rift-leads-to-father-son-at-odds-with-the-fate-of-the-family-at-risk

🌹 🎶Eggciting Spring Singing 

 

Dear << Test First Name >>

🌹 🎶Eggciting Spring Singing🎶🌹
In in my beginning is my end....in my end is my beginning... 
TS Eliot, Four Quartets
  Life is full of circles .. and eggs.. of life, death and rebirth. 
In many Creation Myth the universe hatches from a big cosmic egg often accompanied by a big bang, abracadabra or ohm. The eggs offered to Goddess Eostre are the pagan grandchickens of Easter Eggs and eggs are served at Pesach/ Passover.  Many cultures celebrate New Year around March Equinox/ April and the zodiac calendar reboots with Aries the Ram. It's time for the Tarot Fool to pack a knapsack and wanders off along new paths, whistling a joyful song and stumbling across wild wisdoms.
Here in the UK, the golden daffodils trumpet the promise of spring emerging: "here comes the sun, little darling."  
So in tune with all that, it's an auspicious time for spring cleaning,
 peaceful endings and new beginnings
- and there's always a song to help us along the way. 
🌹 🎶A Songful Farewell 🎶🌹
Huge thanks to all the singers and teams at:
* Heart & Lung Songs 3 weeks ago I foolishly abseiled down a 13-storey hotel for St George's Hospital Charity - video and blog below. 
Your amazingly generous donations will support cardiac and respiratory patients to continue singing with Leslie Ann Lewis hosted generously by Rev Prof June Boyce Tillman and team.  
* St Christopher's Hospice Community Choir has sadly now closed.
As the saying goes those who wish to sing always find a song - and members continue to sing in other corners of our beautifully connected singing world.
x🌹 🎶 Spring Singings 🎶 🌹
Do come and put a singing spring in your step:
* Roaring Roses - inviting experienced singers to come and ROAR!
New Choir Term begins 17th April with lots of new songs!
Breathe Harmony NHS & MyCool Singers Spring Concert - 22nd April, 7.30pm
* Sing for the Earth - 30th April - a special afternoon of song for the planet
* Midsummer Melodies - Thursday 22nd June, 7.30pm delighting to be offering a concert as part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe at All Saints Tooting.

Please check out the info below, visit my website or drop me a line!

I'm egging you on to sing your song!
(Especially if you're feeling a bit shy about it!)

Look forward to seeing and singing with you along with way.
Be well, breathe deep and keep singing loudly!


@katierosewindow on the Socials
katie@therosewindow.org
www.therosewindow.org

 

Facebook
Twitter
Website
YouTube
Wishing all you chickies a lovely Easter/ Passover/ Springtime
from all us chickies at Welcome Choir  🐣💓

🌹 🎶Welcome Choir 🎶🌹
Warm, welcoming lively choir who laugh as much as they sing!
Thursdays 7.00-8.30pm, St John the Evangelist, Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX
First session free, then pay by term. Facebook Page

🌹 🎶Breathe Harmony NHS Staff Choir 🎶🌹
Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS staff choir run by Breathe Arts Health Research
Led by Musical Directors Mike King & Katie Rose More information
 Breathe Harmony NHS & MyCool Singers Spring Concert - 22nd April, 7.30pm

🌹 🎶  BLG Mind Wellbeing Choir🎶🌹
Led by Musical Directors Sarah Fisher & Katie Rose
Tuesdays 2.30-4pm, Azelia Hall, 258 Croydon Road, Beckenham, BR3 4DA

🌹 🎶 Carers Support Centre Choir 🎶🌹
Sing & Shine - Singing Respite Sessions for Carers. 
Weds 10.30-11.45am, Carers Support Centre, 24 George Street, CR0 1PG 
Free for Croydon Carers More information

🌹 🎶 Caterham Community Choir 🎶🌹
Co-Directed by Sarah Fisher & Katie Rose
Tuesdays 7-9pm, de Stafford School, Burntwood Lane, CR3 5YX Facebook Page

🌹 🎶 HeartSong 🎶🌹
Happy heartwarming harmonies with Cardiac Friends & Co.
Bi-monthly Singing on Fridays 2-4pm, Holwell Village Hall, Pirton Lane, SG5 3S

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING MY ABSEIL!
WE RAISED £1210!! WOW!!!
This will help the Heart & Lung Songs Group continue singing!
CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT IT
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katie-rose38
Roaring Roses
Are you ready to ROAR?
Calling spirited singers to join a dynamic new ensemble celebrating the power and beauty of song.
Energising workshops to hone vocal skills and build a richly varied repertoire ready to perform in beautiful, resonant spaces with lots of lion-hearted creative camaraderie.
If you're passionate about vocal music, love performing, have an excellent ear for harmony and pick up fast by ear and/or read music do get in touch 
Sing for the Earth
Sunday 30th April 2-5pm, St John the Evangelist, Sylvan Rd SE19 2RX
Join the Global Chorus to sing Resolution Song and other Planet Loving Songs
In honour of Earth Day (22nd April) we will be taking a singing stand for our beautiful planet. We will learn, sing and take a video of Resolution Song which has been sung by thousands of people in over 100 countries including artists such as Annie Lennox and KT Tunstall as a demonstration of global unity and the will to act now to protect our planet.
Check out the inspiring Videos at Planet Resolution 
Plus enjoying other earth-loving songs in good company.
£15 - do ask if you need a concession
Info and bookings: katie@therosewindow.org
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🌹 🎶 Over the Edge! - Abseil for George's 

 


🌹 🎶 Over the Edge - Abseil for George’s 
17th March 2023, Fundraising for St George’s Hospital Charity
Katie's donation page - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katie-rose38

“Shuffle your heels back over the edge and lean back, like you’re sitting in a chair” - possibly the most terrifying instructions I’ve ever received.  There is no chair and I’m basically sitting back into thin air, suspended by a baby harness 13 storeys up on the top of Pelican Hotel.  I’m trussed up to a metal gateway, a kaleidoscopic tapestry of London Town spinning around me in splinters of sunlight.  Reassuringly, St George’s Hospital and a cemetery lie immediately below, the exit route off the planet clearly mapped out.
“Legs where have you gone…?” I take a big belly breath to see if I can summons them back.  
“The rope has got you, can you feel that?” instructor Andy is utterly cool, calm and crystal clear.  
Yes I can, and somehow it’s enough to reassure me that I can lean back and take my first staggery steps over the edge and down the side of the building. 
“You’ll start off walking and then you’ll be bouncing…” Oh. Right.  Bouncing requires coordinating my legs - but they’re flailing around like a mad spider and not working as a team right now.  The voices of cheering friends reach me on the breeze and I make a determined effort to bring both feet onto the wall.
Boing!!!..  after a few spidery bounces, I realise I’m boinging towards the sharp edge of the hotel - a sandy yellow line splicing the bright blue sky like a long stretch of beach at the wrong angle.  I steer myself back and manage a few more boings before suddenly the wall disappears and I seem to have twirled round.  I have no idea what to do, so I let the rope rush through my hands and slide down to earth, which is mercifully much closer than I think - it’s done!  
“Are you ok?” the welcoming party say as they unclip the ropes.
“Yes, I think so!” I stutter as I collapse laughing against the wall.  Then there’s celebratory photos and hugs with Rose who, as an aerialist, was absolutely the right person to accompany me on this crazy adventure and the courageous ladies from Red Thread, a youthwork charity working within A&E, who went over before me.
I’m sent off to remove my harness - one of the least flattering things I’ve ever worn, given that the bottom half looks like a big pair of frontless pants.  I almost fall over as the lady from Big Bang Promotions releases me, saying that “twirling is normal, especially if you’re a bit lighter.”  From start to finish everyone has been incredibly supportive and made it feel like it was safe, possible and yes, actually normal to walk backwards over the edge of a high rise.  I do a wobbly victory dance with the super friendly charity volunteers, one of whom reflects “it’s mad that we have to do this to get a ward in a hospital.”  They wave me off with a certificate, charity goodie bag and lots of smiles.  Back outside I’m warmly greeted by staff and volunteers, and just about manage to string some sentences together.  Sitting down for a recovery cuppa with Rose, I’m shocked to discover I was only gone half an hour and the actual abseil only two and a half minutes - it felt like forever!! 
 

🌹 🎶 THANKYOU!
So far three days of brave abseilers have raised a whopping £59k - let’s send this over the edge of £60k. Thanks to everyone who cheered me on and donated - together we’ve raised £1050 - WOWZERS! 
There’s still time to donate here: JustGiving Page.
Thanks to all the staff and volunteers at St George’s Hospital Charity for making Abseil for George’s such a great experience.  Thanks to Rose for coming along and taking videos and photos.  Official photos: Hannah Halaska. Three cheers for the Paddy’s Day lucky leprechauns for bringing out the sunshine.

 

🌹 🎶HEART & LUNG SONGS
My fundraising is dedicated to the Heart & Lung Songs Group, founded by the Respiratory Physio Team at St George’s, which enables cardiac and respiratory patients to access the wellbeing benefits of singing.  Since August 2015, I’ve had the honour of leading this very special, caring group who’ve sung their way through the ups and downs of life, including a pandemic.  Thanks to the support of St George’s Hospital Charity, Rev Prof June Boyce Tillman and team at All Saints Tooting, the group will continue to sing together with a wonderful new leader Leslie Anne Lewis. 


Warmly inviting you to join us at two events at All Saints Tooting as part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe
Community Choir Concert - 17th June, 6-8pm - Heart & Lung Songs will be joining other local choirs.
Midsummer Melodies Concert - 22nd June 7.30pm - an uplifting evening of song with Katie Rose & friends

🌹 🎶 THANKYOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!