Mary Bourne
Singing It Back
On the Singing It Back website Mary is referred to as ‘a woman who is able to build a connection in any room.’ Within 30 seconds of speaking to her it was quite apparent why this glowing reference is so apt. Fill a room, raise the curtains and welcome the brilliant Mary Bourne.
Managing two adult choirs, alongside running private classes, writing music and generally making a living and dedicating her life to music, this is a woman who will continue to develop her art and continually seeks new ways to engage and enthuse the men and women who choose to spend their spare time singing as part of her choirs.
She is thorough, determined and organised – all the skills required to successfully launch and plan a concert tour with a large group of adults. When talking to her about touring with adults she says careful assessment of a group is critical. “Leave no room for debate”, she says; take a strong lead.
“You need to assess the members in your group and their lifestyles – if the majority are retired and free to enjoy the finer things in life and time away from home you can plan a very different tour to an all-female choir in their early 30s with young children. Working with a specialist tour provider, you’ll quickly be guided in terms of the best duration, location and venues.”
It’s comes as no wonder with Mary as their inspiration, that she describes her two choirs as extremely cohesive; both with different demographics, she took the bold step of bringing the two choirs together to tour.
“For adults, a tour gives them a taste of being a professional gigging musician. With multiple performances planned in a condensed period of time you rehearse, build up, perform, analyse over dinner with drinks and decide what you can do better next time. Then you quickly go again…and again…! The experience really is something else”
She is also committed to ensuring that no adult who is unable to commit to the tour feels left out. Her techniques are firm open and honest. On returning from tour she picks the group up where they left off. Time to prepare for their next local performance. It’s a balancing act but one that when managed, works well.
Mary we will be joining you on your journey …as will many others!
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