The Choir with No Name Anthem Project
Seven Choirs. One Song.
Our Anthem - Raise the Roof
In 2025, our seven choirs collaborated to write and record a song that shares what choir means to them. The result is a song from the heart.
Creating our Anthem
A truly collaborative project for our choirs
Our national songwriting project was made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England. Developed in collaboration with several of our Choir Directors, this project brought all seven of our choirs together to create something that reflects who we are as a collective, a true musical expression of our shared identity.
Running from April through to the end of 2025, the project unfolded in five stages. As well as celebrating our voices and stories, the song will help raise vital funds - ensuring the impact of this collaboration continues well beyond the final note.
Idea generation
Choir members considered what choir means to them through a non-musical creative activity. They then built on this to develop lyrics for the song. The melody and other harmonic features were then also developed.
Song creation
Taking all of the lyrical and melodic/harmonic elements of the song together, a final song was written and arranged for our choirs to sing.
Rehearsals
All of the choirs learnt the song over the summer months, ready to record it in September.
Recording
Each choir recorded the song. Some choirs were able to experience this in a professional recording studio where local partnerships provided this space.
Production
The seven recordings were then put together into one track and produced as an audio track along with a video to share with our audiences!
Performance
If you came to a gig over Chrismtas 2025 you might have been lucky enough to be among the first to hear Raise the Roof performed live!
This project is rooted in our co-production values, placing our singers at the heart of creation rather than as participants in a pre-designed programme.
Our anthem was shaped collectively across all seven choirs, with ideas, lyrics and musical direction emerging from lived experience, shared discussion and creative exploration within rehearsals. Choir Directors acted as facilitators rather than creators, supporting the process while ensuring every voice has the opportunity to influence the outcome.
By embedding the sessions into regular rehearsals and running them across our choirs ensured accessibility and shared ownership. The result - a song written with our community, not for it - becomes a tangible expression of collective identity, creativity and agency, reflecting the diverse voices that make up our choir family.
Co-production in every note
Watch the journey on YouTube
Stream on Spotify
Be part of the song
Raise the Roof was created through collaboration across our community, and with your support, its impact can go even further.
Our vision is that all people going through tough times find a place to sing their hearts out, among friends. We run choirs and build joyful singing communities with people impacted by homelessness and marginalisation around the UK. What we do is simple but has a huge impact: our choirs meet once a week for a cuppa and a catch up, we then sing our hearts out and sit down together afterwards for a hot meal cooked by volunteers.
For our choir members, the sense of belonging and community they find at choir can be truly life changing. It offers more than just a place to sing, it’s a space to connect, grow in confidence, and build the tools needed to move away from homelessness.
For some, it’s the first time they’ve ever felt empowered, or part of something bigger than themselves. For others, choir provides an anchor in the week, a routine, a reason to show up, and a commitment to hold onto. Many tell us it helps reduce anxiety and encourages them to take positive steps in their lives.
It might sound simple - gathering to sing together - but for many of our choir members, it’s transformative.
Your gift helps more people find support, connection, confidence, and community through singing.
Put the ‘sing’ into fundraising
Through our 100 Heroes challenge this March, we’re inviting choirs everywhere to be part of our extended family. Learn our anthem, perform it your way, and take on the challenge to raise £100 to help generate vital funds so our choirs can keep singing week after week.
Every £100 makes a huge difference and brings us closer to our £10,000 goal.
Could your choir be our Heroes this March?
