FOR the last 12 months, The Music Pool, Herefordshire's community music charity has been running an appeal, the Splash! appeal, to raise funds to support the charity's many projects, among them their early years work, the Sing Spring in project, LiveWire and OMG Herefordshire, their work with children and adults with disabilities and their special events programme, which includes collaborations with Dancefest on Jigsaw, and the Three Choirs Festival with The Gathering Wave, as well as their involvement in support of Hereford Riber Carnival and the Flavours of Herefordshire food festival.

But as The Music Pool’s motto suggests, the charity’s remit is to support ‘Music for life – music for all’ - and an important aspect of that is their provision for the retired and over 60s.

The Garrick Singers was established in January 2013 specifically for this age group, and is unique in being the only regular day-time choir in the county. And from the very start, the Garrick Singers has been so popular that it quickly expanded from one to two sessions in order to meet demand, and currently has 100 members.

Regulars often comment that the main appeal of the choir is that sessions take place during the day (on Monday afternoons at The Courtyard from 12 noon to 1.30pm or from 2-3.30pm), but it is also the only choir specifically for the 60+ age group. “There’s really nothing else just for the 60-pluses,” says Trish, adding that “it frees you up from everyday problems for 90 minutes of pure enjoyment – and we do lots of gigs for charity, so it’s helping others too."

During the past year, the choir has performed in a number of gigs including for Age UK in Hereford High Town, as part of Hereford River Carnival and, most recently, the Poppy Day Remembrance Service at The Courtyard.

And The Garrick Singers, in common with most of The Music Pool’s programmes, focus as much on community as it they do on music making. As one member says: “People who would otherwise be left out can meet up with others and take part at whatever level they want – it’s totally inclusive. There are no auditions, so it’s totally non-threatening”.

Another strong theme is the physical and psychological benefits of being part of The Garrick Singers: “The benefit carries you through the rest of the week” says Sheila, and Chris agrees: “If everybody sang, there’d be no depression!” And, most importantly, everyone enjoys it – as Judy says: “I’ve just got my voice back after a 10-year gap, and I now realise how much I was missing it!”

None of this would be possible, however, without The Music Pool. Choir leader, pianist, arranger and singer, Jon Watson (who also leads the Fire Choir) had the idea of setting up The Garrick Singers when his work as vllage warden for Hereford with the British Red Cross led him to realise that there was a major need for more social interaction and support for older people who might otherwise be isolated.

He approached The Music Pool, which, at the time, was looking for a programme for the over 60s to run in conjunction with The Courtyard’s ‘Arts and Older People’ programme.

“The Music Pool enables people of all ages and abilities to meet and make music together right across the county, and without their support and the support of The Courtyard, the Garrick Singers would never have got going,” says Jon. Members pay £4 per session but The Music Pool needs to raise additional funds to keep its music provision going.

The Splash! Appeal has raised £20,000 to date, but more is still needed to ensure that Herefordshire - young, old and in-between - keeps enjoying the many benefits of singing. To donate, visit musicpool.org.uk and click on the 'donate' button.