VIVA! Women’s Choir

 

 VIVA! Award-winning Women’s Choir

VIVA! started life in 2006 at Dorchester Arts Centre as a mixed choir. In 2023, with a membership of more than 60 women, VIVA! had well and truly established itself as an outstanding Dorset women’s choir. The group sang an eclectic mix of songs, including Gospel, folk, world music, pop songs old and new and original pieces composed for special events

VIVA! performed regularly at local events, such as the Dorset Women’s Day Festival and Race for Life, raising funds for local and national charities. In 2018 VIVA! raised hundreds of pounds for Homestart West Dorset, Parkinson’s UK, and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. VIVA! teamed up with Kathie’s other choirs (Heart and Soul, Dorset County Hospital Choir, Skylarks Children’s Choir and Nightingales Middle School Choir) regularly.

Kathie’s adult choirs have won the Best Large Choir category at the Weymouth Music Festival on a number of occasions over the past few years. In 2015, the adjudicator commented that Give Me a Clean Heart “built into a rich harmonic experience. The commitment of every member of the choir brought a real intensity to the performance”. Regarding Amazing Grace, he added, “The colour of the long notes was carried on beautiful open vowels. The performance had joyful expressive energy”!

In 2012 VIVA! joined forces with other Dorset choirs to sing music specially commissioned for the opening of the Olympics in Weymouth. They also featured that year on the soundtrack of Out in the Open, an original film about homelessness which premiered at Dorchester’s Plaza Cinema.

In 2014 VIVA! combined its talents with those of Skylarks Children’s Choir and Shaftsbury’s Pallida Choir, directed by composer Karen Wimhurst. The choirs took part in Heartwood, a very special outdoor performance conceived by sound artist Adrian Newton, as part of Dorset’s Inside Out Festival.

In 2023, Kathie’s adult choirs combined to become Cloud 9 Chorus: a collaboration of Dorset County Hospital Choir, VIVA! and Heart & Soul. Are you interested in singing in a choir? No prior experience is needed! Please join us for a free taster session. New members are welcome at any point in the year. There’s no need to read music and the sessions are informal, fun and a great way to relax and de-stress! For more details please contact Kathie on 07826 385301 or singing@kathieprincemusic.co.uk

(Above) VIVA! sing One Voice during a recording session at Warmwell Church

Click above to hear VIVA! singing Give me a Clean Heart

……and Amazing Grace

…No More Silence

…The Storm is Passing Over

…Hard Times