Background

I studied music at Colchester Institute, specialising musically in the voice, and academically in music for people with additional needs. My Masters degree in Health & the Arts gave me enormous insight into the value of artistic and musical expression for a person’s health and well-being. As well as performing on voice and guitar and working as a community musician for various organisations, I teach singing on an individual basis, and run vocal workshops and courses for schools, colleges and other groups.

Over the past few years I have been involved in ‘Sounding Out’, a project with Colchester Borough Council in collaboration with musicians from the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, bringing opportunities for music and singing to a wide selection of the local community, particularly those who may have felt excluded in the past. I am currently involved in the Youth Music ‘Singbook’ initiative in delivering training for teachers to make singing more accessible to young people.

Current courses/workshops in the Colchester (Essex) area:

Song styles covered range from African lullabies to Maori love songs, world/folk to gospel and inspirational, and from swing to pop. No previous musical knowledge or sight-reading is necessary to take part in my workshops - my aim is to provide opportunities for people to discover and explore their own voice and musicality, whether it is for fun, for learning or to enhance self-awareness and personal development.

Sing From the Heart – East Mersea 4th Monday in the month. £3.50 a session including refreshments. 7.30-9.30pm

Harmonic Voices – informal choir, alternate Mondays – available for bookings

Ladies in Harmony - Tuesday afternoons, Lexden, Colchester. 2-3.30pm, £21 per six weeks, please phone Jean Hammond 01206 577783 for details

Souterrain Singers - Thursday evenings, 7.30-9.30pm, Colchester town centre. £50 per ten-week term, small concessions on request for low/unwaged

The Co-op Singers - Wednesday evenings, Ipswich, Suffolk. £16 per term, Co-op members, £18 non-members. At the moment this is an all female choir, but we are hoping to open it to men in the near future.

Performance

I sing and play in a female vocal/guitar duo – ‘Coulter’s Candy’, incorporating a wide repertoire ranging from traditional and contemporary folk to popular songs and ‘standards’, and also play guitar and provide vocal harmonies with a bluegrass band – ‘Grasshoppers’.

For details of above, to book a workshop suited to your needs, information on music in the community, reminiscence, entertainment etc. please contact:

Angela Dennis MAHA -BA hons
Natural Voice Practitioner
01206 504246/07812 064550
sing.ang@ntlworld.com