Raising Voices (2024)
Raising Voices was a celebration of communities through song at the New Auditorium, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.
Scottish Refugee Council and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) co-produced this family-friendly concert celebrating how singing groups have supported New Scots to flourish.
Raising Voices brought together three unique Glasgow-based choirs with culturally diverse memberships – Joyous Choir (Maryhill), Soloway Choir (Springburn) and Harper African Voice (Govan) – which include singers who are New Scots, from other migrant backgrounds or from their wider local communities. An 18-piece ensemble from the RSNO joined the three choirs and performances were introduced by poet Tawona Sitholé with new musical arrangements by Jon Hargreaves.
Concert information
Joyous Choir
Soloway Choir
Harper African Voice
Musicians from RSNO
Jon Hargreaves Conductor
Tawona Sitholé Presenter
About the choirs
Since 2013, MIN’s Joyous Choir has used singing to support social inclusion, and improve wellbeing, in a welcoming and creative space.
The choir welcomes participants from diverse backgrounds including women who are seeking asylum and refuge in Glasgow, as well as those born and raised in the city. The group shares songs from different cultures, and often sing about themes such as friendship, protest, sisterhood, dreams, freedom and hope.
The Harper African Voice is a Christian worship choir based in Harper Memorial Baptist Church, Glasgow. The choir was set up over two years ago by Lawrence Jah, with a present membership of nineteen people.
People from various walks of life such as asylum seekers, international students, health sector workers and so forth, constitute membership of the choir. Membership also comprises individuals from predominantly African backgrounds, with some from other nations. This therefore affirms the inter-cultural composition of the congregation of over 35 nations.
The choir members lead the congregation to worship God in an African style, on the second Sunday of every month.
The Soloway Choir was born in November 2022, when Bozhena Yakymenko gathered a group of Ukrainian women who had recently arrived in Glasgow to sing Christmas carols. The choir has been growing steadily since then, as many other Ukrainians are enthusiastic to join.
Soloway has performed at several charity concerts and was invited to sing at an event organised by AUGB Glasgow in George Square this year to mark the second anniversary since the start of the war. The main goal of Soloway is to encourage everyone and share in a message of solidarity: that there is light at the end of every tunnel and we need to be shoulders for one another.
Commissioned by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Refugee Council for Refugee Festival Scotland 2025
Presented at at the New Auditorium of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Images: Abby Dennison
