You may attend any active group once as a visitor, if you contact the group coordinator first, but to continue you have to become a member of Bedford u3a.

Dates for 2025

WEEKLY MEETINGS

REPORT

2023 SUMMER CONCERT was a lovely event. The choir in fine voice, the recorder group doing a brilliant “guest appearance”, and a beautiful solo from our (now) award winning Jane, alongside the raffle and The Best Tea Ladies in the County, a splendid afternoon of music and fun was had by audience and participants alike. Once again, we raised enough money to keep the choir and recorder group in music for the year, relieving financial pressure from individuals and the u3a itself.

2023 u3a CHRISTMAS CONCERT

For the first time, the choir and recorder group joined forces to perform Sweet Christmas Bells, which went so well that we are planning to continue to work together again for one or two numbers per year.

ACTIVITIES

Our chief aim is to SING. See The Science Bit below for one reason why we do.

We aim to provide a warm and sociable atmosphere for ALL singers. Whether you are an old hand, a complete beginner or even one of those victims who, told years ago “you can’t sing”*** but is still afraid to attempt a musical sound in public, we are YOUR CHOIR! The choir as a group does not understand the concept of “being full” so if you are free on a Tuesday afternoon, come and join us. We try to have a good range of songs, from madrigals to musicals, folk songs and jazz standards. We generally have a dozen or so songs in our repertoire each year, with 4 or 5 extras at Christmas.

THE SCIENCE BIT

The benefits of singing have been proved. Singing exercises the brain AND the body, improving breathing, posture and muscle tension. Singing in a choir has been shown to release neurochemicals such as b-endorphin, a natural painkiller responsible for the “high” experienced after intense exercise. It’s possible that music can play a role in sustaining a heathy immune system by reducing the stress hormone cortisol and boosting the immunoglobin an antibody.

TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY

We all tend to leave choir practice smiling and with a spring in our steps!

No auditions. If you can speak, you can sing.

***No one can sing without learning how and then practising regularly. Like any other musical instrument, the voice needs to be tutored and guided and enjoyed. NB Only about 4% of the population is “amusic” (finding pitch of notes hard to hear aka tone deafness)