As I’m sure you’ve all noticed, this term is a little different… a break from the norm… well, if there is such a thing for the Green Heart Army and Sing United!

Sing United –  what are we all about?

Bringing people together…
A love and passion for singing…
Music with meaning – a message, an identity…
Taking our music out into the community…
Supporting local charities connected to our music through the Sing United Foundation…

This Unique Term

So whilst it’s a different term, it arguably more than ever ties in with what we are all about. We listened to your concerns (along with ours) over the pressure to sell out 3 concerts a year and wanted to relieve that pressure as soon as we could. This was the beginning of this new and exciting term.

We appreciate some of the songs are very different to learn and sing but the timing of our need to find something new for this term presented us with a very unique opportunity.

The Lindisfarne Gospels

The successful bid by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums to host the Lindisfarne Gospels in 2022 brought the most spectacular surviving manuscript from Anglo-Saxon England to our region. On loan from the British Library, it is on display at the Laing Art Gallery from 17 September to 3 December 2022. The book was created on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne and it represents Northumbria’s golden age of design and craftsmanship. Incredibly it has survived in almost perfect condition for over one thousand years.

As a result, a series of special events are happening across the North East this autumn inspired the Lindisfarne Gospels, known as the Inspired By programme. The music featured on the programme is the newly released Arð album created by our very own Mark Deeks.

So, we set about combining the buzz of the Gospels in our region and their connection to some truly incredible performance opportunities in some of the most special locations in the place we call home.

The songs we are singing from the Arð album have given us the opportunity to perform in a string of amazing locations because of their direct link with the Lindisfarne Gospels. The album tells the tale of the journey of St Cuthbert’s bones from Holy Island to Durham Cathedral and gave us the chance to not only approach those special venues, but also the reason that pretty much everywhere we approached said yes! Eventually…

We’re so grateful to you all for taking on this new challenge, your support really does mean so much. Your enthusiasm for Sing United and what we are all about has enabled us to carve out this truly memorable set of performances. And as you know our fundraising this term is a continuation of last term’s support for the amazing charity Playlist for Life, supporting their work with dementia patients and their families in the North East region.

What next for Sing United?

We’ll be back working towards one big show with a few non-venue venues thrown in for good measure. 2023 will be the start of our new way forward with our main shows in March and November and the summer term giving us another opportunity to take our singing out into the community with more smaller performances. Each term will still have its own theme and identity and we’ll continue the amazing fundraising we’re so proud to support through the Sing United Foundation.

Thank you once again Green Heart Army, you’re a special group of people that’s for sure 💚