The only thing better than singing is more singing according to Ella Fitzgerald and who are we to argue? At Doris we dig up folk songs from Somerset, remember old English tunes and learn Shona spirituals from Zimbabwe. Sometimes we put the two together and create something completely new! We play with the vocal percussion of Southern India, travel through the Maghreb with its’ ancient Amazigh chants and then across to Brazil and Cuba through the powerful and uplifting songs for the Orishas.

We weave a programme of workshops you commit to for the five days and ones you can drop in and out of with guest teachers bringing their special songs. We will have classes for the men so they can develop together, classes for those who can sing already and want to expand their repertoire and classes for the frightened who have never sung. Singing can also be part of the drumming and dance classes and you learn to do both at once.

There are opportunities in the evenings to share your own songs in the famous Doris Cafe open mic sessions.

The youth area has expert tutors and digital music making equipment and songs, raps and poems are written, rehearsed and performed in the Saturday Youth night performance.