Hilary Davies is a very busy woman when it comes to music.

As the leader of four choirs, across two counties, plus a special singing group for people suffering from COPD – breathing problems – Hilary is never left wanting for work.

“I’ve been running singing workshops since 1998,” she explained. “Then I started leading my first choir in Worcester in 2001.

“My background is in folk music, and that’s where my passion for harmony singing comes from.”

Previously, Hilary has worked in a Hospice Day Centre, as a Diversional Therapist, and also with mental health and homeless organisations as an arts worker.

She continued: “It’s important to get people doing things to bolster their spirits.

“Doing creative things can be very life affirming and can even help with healing.”

Now a full-time choir leader and singing teacher, Hilary runs three community choirs in Worcester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury, who meet and rehearse every week.

Her Tewkesbury choir, ‘Heart&Soul’, began in 2003 with 15 members. Now, she has around 90 regular members.

“It began as a series of singing workshops for over 50s, but they were so enthusiastic it became a full-time choir,” she explained.

“We’re made up of mainly retirees, but also people who work part time or are unemployed. Our oldest member is 97 – a very good tenor – and youngest is probably their 40s.

“We do a few performances in Tewkesbury every year, mainly at local events and fundraisers.”

The repertoire ‘Heart&Soul’ perform is slightly unconventional, preferring World Music to showtunes and pop songs.

Hilary added: “We like doing songs from the British Isles, we’re practising a few Celtic folk songs at the moment.

“Then we also do gospel music and Shape Note from America, music from across Europe, the Balkans and Sweden, places like that, singing in different languages.

“We’ve also got a special connection with South Africa. We raise money for a charity called ‘Umthombo Street Children’, which is a project to help children in Durban.

“We’ve done a choir exchange with a group from Cullinan, and I love traditional South African singing.”

Another unique aspect to the group is that Hilary teaches the choir without sheet music, singing parts to her members who then sing back to her. All the songs are sung in a cappella harmony, without accompaniment.

“It’s a lovely way of learning, it creates a real sense of community in the choir,” she said. “Having them sing it back to you, listening to them gradually improving and all come together is really fun. We laugh a lot!"

“Not having to be able to read music makes it a lot more accessible, and the sense of achievement everyone feels at the end is really wonderful.”

You can find more information about Hilary's choirs at www.choirsinharmony.co.uk