Wessex House | The Phoenix Voices

Wessex House Project

Each year the Co-op selects a number of community groups and projects across the country to support, and then offers its members the opportunity to support one of these causes. For every £1 spent in store by a membership card holder, The Co-op will donate 1p to their chosen community funded project. Last year The Phoenix Voices were incredibly proud and grateful to be one of the chosen causes.

We successfully raised over £2000 to use for our Wessex House Project, with the cheque being presented to Gail and Kris on November 3rd, 2022.

This money allows us to carry out our project plans, with weekly choral workshops (which we began on Monday 23rd January 2023), and culminating in a concert on Saturday April 15th!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us in raising this money and allowing us to make a difference!

We're having a great time singing with the residents of Wessex House, there's been a great turn-out of resident and family members too! We've sung a wide variety of old time tunes including "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain", "Over the Rainbow", "Daisy, Daisy" and even some Elvis! Sitting in amongst the residents and singing with them has been heartwarming and uplifting, and there are some truly amazing voices there.

Over the coming weeks, we will continue working on these pieces, add in a few more, and on Saturday April 15th, we will hold a concert at Wessex House for residents and their families, with the choir being joined by a live band, comprising of a group of talented musicians who often perform with the choir at our concerts. The concert will be recorded to dvd with a copy being presented to Wessex House, and the rest being distributed to local care homes in the area, and independent backing tracks created so that the choir can also perform in other care homes.

We hope this will be an enjoyable and memorable project for all involved - choir, band, residents, their families and the Wessex House staff!

What choir members and Wessex House staff have said about the project so far:

"It has been such a feelgood factor. Seeing the residents joining in either singing, smiling, or swaying to the music is very uplifitng!"

"It is a rewarding experience for all involved. The residents seem to be enjoying the music and are contributing to sessions and the Phoenix team are enjoying supporting them in getting the most out of the process."

"It's lovely seeing how the music has a positive effect on the residents and it's been really good to hear that it lasts well after we leave. It lifts my Monday morning too!"

"They are still glowing!"