Mary Keith is heading to Nidderdale to help us brush up on the choir’s repertoire of 4 original songs, on the evening of the 17th of April.

This ‘no pressure’ refresher will take place in Pateley Bridge Memorial Hall, from 6pm – 9pm.

New singers are invited to join us.

The experience of taking part in this refresher will be the only qualification new singers require, in order to join the variety of  low key performances we have scheduled for World Curlew Week.

A light supper will be provided.

About the Choir:

The Pennine Hills Curlew Choir was formed in March 2024, when award winning nature-writer, Karen Lloyd and freelance musician, Mary Keith led a series of workshops at venues across the Yorkshire Dales.

The pop-up community choir welcomes singers of all abilities and includes fieldworkers as well as those brand-new to conservation.

The choir aims to meet up at least 2 or 3 times a year to expand their original repertoire and remind themselves of the songs they’ve already written.

Since forming in 2024, the choir have performed at the North of England Farmland Curlew Awards, as well as beneath umbrellas on Pateley Bridge High Street, and in a bothy at the top of Denton Moor, near Ilkley.

They’ve also sung from the ruins of St Mary’s Chapel above Pateley Bridge and collaborated with young people from East Leeds arts centre, Chapel FM, adding on one memorable occasion, the wail of an electric guitar to their original sound.

The choir allows singers to tap into a wellspring of creative and emotional sources, inspired by curlew, as well as providing an original way for the public to connect with conservation.

The call of the curlew heralds spring and has inspired a wealth of folklore, poetry, art and music. Their unique vocalisations – which feature complex harmonics and pitch variations – are often described as haunting, but just as often as ecstatic. Calls are composed of both major and minor tones and can provoke strong feelings of both sorrow and joy. Perhaps this explains why curlews have stirred such a range of responses from poets, musicians and writers.

This event has been supported with grant funding from the Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme.