“All my life I’ve loved the way that singing and songs can raise you up and make you feel better about being alive; the way that the right song at the right time can make you feel human and connected to the world. SongTribe is special – you don’t have to be a great singer to join but you need to be committed and keen to perform as well as we possibly can – and to having a lot of fun along the way.” – Ali Burns
Ali Burns is one of the UK’s leading Natural Voice Choir Leaders and a songwriter and arranger who loves to write for community choirs – songs with lush, beautiful harmonies and simple text that are easy enough to learn by ear but satisfying and special to sing. Many of her songs have found their way into the repertoire – and hearts – of singers across the UK, and increasingly the USA, New Zealand and Australia. Her work is published by Faber, Sing Up! and Oxford University Press.
In 1995 she was a founding member of the Natural Voice Practitioners’ Network, the international network for natural voice and community choir leaders, and she continues to be heavily involved in developing the organisation.
Ali has written extensively on good community practice in choir settings. In 2013 she co-wrote along with Christine Kydd The Choir Leader’s Training Pack for Scotland Sings. Other publications include Community Voiceworks: The Complete Resource for Community Choirs by Gitka Partington and Alison Burns. This book contains the distilled wisdom of Gitika and Alison’s work – more than 50 years combined experience and many, many thousands of hours of working with choirs and groups of people at all levels of singing experience.
You can read about Ali and purchase sheet music for her songs on her website.