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Ali Burns
Songmaker
Music Educator
Community Choir Director
Workshop Leader




My work is all about people singing together in harmony. I love the way that singing can unburden you from daily life and it’s this that inspires my workshops and my songwriting.

I’ve always been fascinated by the sound of voices singing: it doesn’t have to be a great voice – in fact quite the opposite - I think I’m inspired just by the fact that people’s voices are so closely connected to themselves and that they are prepared to stand up and sing – this is me – this is what I sound like! And when you put many voices together, the strong support the weak and the whole is such a magnificent thing - so much larger than the sum of the parts.

The songs I teach in my workshops reflect a variety of sources: many are my own songs either with text I’ve written myself or settings of other writer’s words; some are from the research work I do in traditional song archives around Britain – you can read more about that on the Singing Workshops page; some are from the many vibrant singing cultures around the world and some are written by other contemporary songwriters and composers.

“I want to recreate the richness of harmony that makes songs of oral traditions around the world so satisfying and joyful to sing but with words that root the work firmly back in my own culture”

Have a look round my website and if you have a project that would fit my work I’d be delighted to talk to you about it.

Ali Burns

01556 503 646
07866 392 421

info@aliburns.co.uk


What’s new this month?
January workshops:
Saturday 30th: Harmony singing with Angus Folk, St Margarets Church Hall, Forfar

February workshops:
Saturday 20th: The Muckle Sing, Howden Centre, Livingston
Sunday 28th: Singing workshop, Argyll

See Diary page for more details

Past Workshops for Organisations

20,000 Voices, Northumberland
Adult Learning Project, Edinburgh
British Association for Early Childhood
Celtic Connections, Glasgow
Chartered Institute of Public
Finance and Accountancy
Cromarty Arts Trust, Highlands
Drake Music Scotland
Dumfries and Galloway Arts Association
Dumfries and Galloway Council
Fest and Furious, Dundee City Council
Feis Rois
Glasgow City Council Education Dept
Inspire, Nairn
Jenny Mosley Consultants
Kaleidoscope, Derby
Music Leader North East
National Trust for Scotland
National Youth Choir of Scotland
NHS Scotland
Sangschule,Linlithgow
Scottish Culture and Tradition, Aberdeen
Scottish Natural Heritage
Scotland’s National Museum of Costume
Scottish Childminder’s Association
Sing Up!
The Wren Trust, Devon
Traditional Music and Song
Association of Scotland
Turtle Dove USA
Yorkshire Arts



 

 

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