The main concept behind the choir is to enable staff from across the Trust to come together and improve staff morale. The friendships and support network that choir members form not only help to support staff retention but also further enhance patient and visitor experience as the choir perform throughout the Trust as appropriate (pre COVID-19).
The friendly group is always on the lookout for new members, who enjoy songs from Earth, Wind & Fire, Queen, Bob Marley, Diana Ross, Wilson Phillips, Rihanna, Rag’n’Bone Man, Coldplay and Stormzy, to name a few artists. Performances to date include the stroke unit, children’s ward, dementia care and cardiac to name but a few.
The choir director leads each of the sessions and any additional rehearsals prior to performances. The day-to-day organisation of the choir is coordinated by a volunteer who is a retired member of staff.
The RWT Charity is proud to support The RWT Singers as they continue to grow. It was anticipated that following an initial grant the charity made to them in 2018, that they would be completely self-funding by now. Unfortunately, COVID-19 thwarted those plans, so the charity generously agreed to support their running costs until June 2023.
The choir has recently qualified for the semi-finals of the Midlands Choir of the Year competition and is one of 16 choirs appearing on Sunday, May 22 at The Hub, St Mary’s Church in Lichfield, bidding to reach the finals.
For the semi-final, each group has to sing at least two songs in six minutes Led by their Choir Director Martin Trotman, The RWT Singers will perform Pink’s What About Us, Hold Back the River by James Bay, and True Colours by Cyndi Lauper. Hold Back the River is the choir’s acapella number.
The choir reached the semi-finals in 2020 but the competition was cancelled due to COVID restrictions. The group have re-entered and again reached the semi-finals with new songs. Should the group reach the finals on Sunday July 10 at Lichfield Cathedral, members will have to sing before the judges for 10 minutes.
