A Scottish farmers’ choir which first got together seven years ago to perform a one-off concert at the Glasgow Hydro is to host a special concert called‘A Song For Maggie’s at the Royal Concert Hall on 23 February to raise money for the cancer care charity.
Hosted by Sally Magnusson and led by choir master Kate Picken, the 100-strong choir including men and women will perform a selection of 20 songs including This Is Me from the movie The Greatest Showman, Touch The Sky from Disney-Pixar movie Brave, and Shallow from a A Star is Born by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper.
Kate, who recently received an MBE for services to music, education and charity stretching over 37 years in the Queens’s New Year’s Honours list, said: ‘The Farmers Choir is made up of women and men from all over Scotland. We come together to practice as one huge choir every Sunday in Lanarkshire.
‘I was first asked to lead the choir by Sandy Wilkie, former Wiseman Dairies’ director and great supporter of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers when we all got together including Sandy’s wife, Ailsa, in 2013, to put on a special performance at The Hydro to celebrate the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs 75th anniversary.
‘At the time, we all thought that this would be a one-off event but seven years down the line and we’re still going strong and we’ve made over £50,000 for local and national charities!
‘Sandy recently asked us to perform a special concert for Maggie’s and it’s a real privilege for all of us to be singing together again for a good cause. The choir provides great camaraderie for everyone involved.
‘We have people who travel 200-mile-round trips to come along and practice at weekends, but we all get a lot from singing together. There’s a real buzz from being in the choir. As a music teacher, I know that singing is uplifting. It’s good for health and wellbeing and that goes for every age group from the very young to the very old. It’s fantastic that we have been asked to do a concert for Maggie’s which helps people to live well with cancer.’
Sandy Wilkie MBE, local fundraising board chair for Maggie’s Lanarkshire, added: “It’s great news for us that the great, Kate Picken, has got behind this very special event for Maggie’s. Maggie’s is a very special charity which does fantastic work to support people living with cancer and their friends and families. We’re so lucky to have eight Maggie’s Centres in Scotland. Anyone who attends the concert will have a fantastic time and they’ll be supporting a great cause.”
The concert is set to be a very special event for many members of the choir whose families have been touched by cancer. Many members of the choir have received support from Maggie’s themselves, including, Ann MacKenzie from Lanarkshire.
Ann, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, said: ‘The Maggie’s Centres do such fantastic work to support people with cancer. I did a seven-week ‘Where Now?’ course at Maggie’s, which helps people to get their lives on track again after a cancer diagnosis and treatment and I took part in the Look Good Feel Better course which was great. It’s a real honour to be performing in the Farmers Choir for Maggie’s. My singing time with the choir is a great time for mindfulness and being in the moment and doing the concert will be a lovely way to be able to give something back.’
Lorrie Forsyth, centre head for Maggie’s Lanarkshire added: ‘We are delighted that the Farmers’ Choir will host ‘A Song For Maggie’s’ at the Royal Concert Hall to help support Maggie’s Lanarkshire and I’m really looking forward to the performance.
‘We hold a flourishing singing group every week at Maggie’s Lanarkshire, and see first-hand that it’s not about how you sing but about taking part and how that makes you feel; you feel part of a group which creates a sense of belonging.
‘There’s an enormous sense of fun and enjoyment from learning something new and working together and we know that singing itself can bring about positive feelings and the release of endorphins. It’s just one approach that people who have been affected by cancer can use to cope and thrive at what can be one of the most difficult times of their lives.”
‘We are encouraged that singing is being considered as a way to strengthen wellbeing and to help people live well with cancer.”
A Song For Maggie’s will take place at the Royal Concert Hall on 23 February with doors open from 2pm. Tickets cost £25 and can be purchased from www.maggiescentres.org/songformaggies
For further information about Maggie’s go to maggiescentres.org
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