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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
info@aliburns.co.uk

What’s new this month? 
March Workshops
Sunday 7th:  Workshop with Northern Harmony led by Larry Gordon and Patty Cuyler from 2pm til 5pm, followed by concert 7pm.  All at Twynholm Village Hall, near Kirkcudbright, DG6 4NT
Saturday 13th: Harmony Workshop, Penarth, near Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan. Ali Burns teaching her own songs - open to anyone.
Saturday 27th: Power of Song day of workshops celebrating traditional song at Boroughmuir School, Viewforth, Edinburgh. Lots of different workshop leaders. Ali leading easy harmony singing in the morning and Harmony singing for more experienced singers in the afternoon.

See Diary page for more details

New recordings of my songs:

	This is a clip of the fabulous Emily Smith singing Mary Midder, a Shetland prayer live at Forgotten Carols 2009. It’s very short but perfect! Thank you Emily! www.emilysmith.org/
	Brendan Taaffe from Battleborough in Vermont, USA has just launched his lovely album Little Boots. Here’s his version of my setting of The Sailor’s Prayer. www.brendantaaffe.com/
	The singing group Bright Field from Wales – Linda Gwilim, Becky Knight, Stuart Jones and Joan Mills - have just finished their first cd, Different Kinds of Laughing, and have included this haunting version of A Pebble on My Tongue. Contact: jnm@aber.ac.uk