This Saturday, 31 October, 435 singers from 12 choirs will come together at Barnsley Metrodome Arena for Tarn in Tune, a free workshop morning to celebrate Barnsley Singers’ 10th anniversary and bring Barnsley’s choirs together, with guests from Saltaire, Hull and Manchester.
The choirs
Over the last fortnight we’ve introduced the 11 choirs joining us. Eight are from Barnsley and the surrounding area:
- Creative Recovery’s Uplift Choir, from the Barnsley charity that uses creativity to support recovery and wellbeing, where the focus is on sharing songs, stories and a cuppa or two
- Barnsley Ilesha Ladies Choir, a well-established ladies’ choir singing in three-part harmony, from songs from the shows to traditional tunes
- Thurgoland Community Choir, formed in 2012 as a community venture by Holy Trinity Thurgoland, singing secular, popular and spiritual music
- The Original Local Vocals, Barnsley’s pop and rock choir, running for over 16 years with a repertoire from the swinging sixties to the present day
- Barnsley & District U3A Choir, singing a wide range of music for mixed voices, from traditional pieces to songs from stage musicals
- Thurnscoe Harmonic Male Voice Choir, a non-auditioning choir whose performances over 100 years have raised thousands of pounds for good causes
- Jubilee Singers, Barnsley, a four-part choir performing concerts all year round, named after the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002
- Wombwell Mixed Voice Choir, who regularly perform at charity events locally and further afield
And three are friends travelling from further afield:
- AFO (All For One) Choir, a family-run organisation founded in 2011, with weekly singing sessions in Hull, Beverley, Market Weighton, Driffield, Ripon and Cleethorpes. We first met at the Hull International Choir Competition in 2025.
- Great Yorkshire Chorus from Saltaire, near Bradford, friends of ours since 2022, with four years of rehearsals, performances and workshops together
- Hallé Ancoats Community Choir from Manchester, one of our earliest choir friendships, dating back to 2019
On the day
After a welcome and warm-up, singers will take part in three workshops: Gospel with Maria Mullin (Musical Director, Great Yorkshire Chorus), Folk with Luke Mather (Musical Director, Barnsley Singers) and Pop with Helen Garnett (Musical Director, All For One Choir). The day ends with a massed sing, with all 12 choirs singing together.
And in the evening
The celebrations continue at our 10th Anniversary Party at the Metrodome from 18.30, with a buffet, a bar, photo opportunities and live music from Platinum Party Band. Tickets are £10 and include the buffet.
Thank you to every choir making the trip to be with us. We can’t wait to sing with you all.
Fancy singing with us? Barnsley Singers rehearses on Tuesday evenings at Barnsley Sixth Form College. There’s no audition, and you don’t need to read music. Find out about joining.