In 2006 Maggie O’Connor a Community Artist/ Musician (trained as a musician but dabbling in all things artistic...) had a lull in her work as Musician in Healthcare at St Mary’s Hospital on Isle of Wight (IOW). Having trained as a Natural Voice Practitioner with Frankie Armstrong and having started and run Women Singing for Fun in Southampton and three Singing for Health groups on IOW decided it was time to start a Natural Voice Community Choir in Southampton. The planning was in hand , the venue chosen was the African Carribean Centre in Newtown in an attempt to start a more multicultural group . It would start in late January 2012 and publicity needed to be done but a name was needed. On a New Years Day walk on the Common with Julian Harrow and Judy Blake ideas were tossed around... Julian suggested we just looked around us for inspiration and that was it there was all that blue sky up above us. And so it was. Blue Sky Natural Voice Choir was launched with an article in the Echo “SINGING CHALLENGE! Can Maggie O’Connor get a new group of people singing together and sounding great in one hour? There is a new choir starting in Southampton but with a difference! This group is open to anyone who wants to sing, no auditions, no experience necessary, no need to read music, no need to sing solo. Maggie O’Connor, who will be leading the group, has easy ways to get people singing together so it sounds really brilliant after just an hour. She works with the “natural voice” giving tips for how to loosen up and let out the full natural voice and then how to make it sound good , singing with other people. The new choir will meet for ten weeks ,starting 25th January developing their singing voices and learning songs for a community performance around Easter. Songs will be from different cultures including a rainforest blessing chant and a new Peace song. Sessions will be full of lively rhythms and heartwarming harmonies. There is increasing scientific interest in the health benefits of singing, It releases natural “feelgood” hormones and relieves stress and depression” Lots of people turned up the first night and we had to move into the bigger hall. And we did perform really well 10 weeks later in the African Caribbean Centre: La Cucuracha( with new words “ Up there is blue sky “) Aka Se rekisho , Obo sumi sa, Amazing Grace, Halle halle halle and Up above my head. and we ate Carribean curry cooked by the manager of the Centre, Tony, and had the resident steel band play for us. Founder members still singing with us are Mike Drain, Ann Bassil, Sue Lawrence , Judy Blake, Sandra Williams, Pauline Dibley, Pat Dennet and Gilly Cooke . Have a look at the Gallery for pictures of the very first concert.