Maya and the Joy of Song
MAYA WALDMAN tells us about the choirs she facilitates and how you might raise your voice with others
I am a singer and singing leader. To facilitate a group of humans to sing and harmonise together is the greatest privilege and pleasure. I have been leading people in song for nearly 20 years. Experience has created many layers to my teaching, but essentially my continued love of supporting people to sing and seeing their musicality and confidence blossom is at the heart of every session I facilitate. When people come and sing with me, I feel they place their trust in my hands, and I treat this with care and respect. I aim to bring joy, humour, energy and compassion to my teaching.
Sweet Harmony in concert
Before moving to Carmarthenshire in 2013 I worked for six years in London. In addition to two weekly community choirs, I worked on a variety of projects with a range of groups, spanning music for early years to singing with people experiencing homelessness.
I worked extensively in health settings, running Singing for Breathing sessions at the Royal Brompton Hospital and Womb Song singing workshops for pregnant women at Chelsea and Westminter Hospital.
I founded Sweet Harmony Community Choir in 2014, a welcoming, supportive and thriving 40-strong open-access choir based in Carmarthen.
I live in Hebron, near Crymych, and set up Lleisiau Preseli Voices in 2021 in order to connect with the community near my home. The choir is very varied and inclusive – people of all ages, genders and cultural identities are warmly welcomed. The group established a strong sense of community very quickly and has gone from strength to strength in the past three years. There are now around 50 members. While our focus remains on singing for the joy of it, we also perform at community events and this year we did a concert at St Davids Cathedral. You can find a link to a video here.
At the start of each term we hold an open session which is free for new members and gives people a chance to get a feel for what we do. Our next taster session is on 3 September (4 September in Carmarthen).
More information: singingforeveryone@gmail.com
More information on Lleisiau Preseli Voices:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/preselivoices
Sweet Harmony: www.sweetharmonychoir.co.uk
Here are some testimonials from choir members:
“I always wanted to join a choir, but can’t read music and was very scared about anyone hearing me sing. No longer. I have been singing with Maya since she first started Sweet Harmony and it is the highlight of my week. The time when I feel most connected with others and just enjoy being part of the wonderful music we make” – Hannah Twigg
“Maya has opened the door for me to music from around the world, including from home, and the journey has been an absolute joy. Singing with others is such a joy” – Annie Delahunty
“It is known that singing is excellent for physical and mental health. Singing with Maya and the choir is all that, plus it’s great for the soul and cheaper than therapy! Maya is fun and creates a warm, welcoming community. We laugh nearly as much as sing, and we sing a lot. Beautiful melodies and rhythms from around the world lift our spirits and soothe our minds. I love being part of it” – Chdel Goddard
