Our very first rehearsal was on March 31st, 2008. Four people turned up, we sang through a whole bunch of tunes from gospel to reggae and had a delicious dinner. Our cooking skills are now considerably more stretched as we're now cooking for 60 in London (including visitors, musicians and volunteers), and 30 in Birmingham.
After just a handful of rehearsals we were visited by a TV production company making a "documentary" that turned out to be the Secret Millionaire (Hi Daniel!) who gave us an initial £5,000 that really got us going.
The past few years have seen us performing across the UK, including gigs supporting Coldplay in 2010 and Paul Weller in 2011, as well as appear on ITV's This Morning, Radio 4, BBC London and get some absolutely great reviews.
Our repertoire is ever expanding and we're going from strength to strength. We have always worked to the following core values:
Support
For many choir members the support of family and friends is absent. The CWNN provides an environment where the group comes together in trust and supports each other’s endeavours, musical or otherwise.
Excellence
We see no reason why a background in homelessness should create excuses for poor performances. We expect the best from our singers and we give them a solid musical platform on which to stand by using professional musicians as support.
Collaboration
Members contribute to the musical direction of the choir through song choices and where appropriate through leading rehearsals.
Fun
We create a relaxed atmosphere where members are encouraged to enjoy themselves!
