Northampton 'complaints choir' to give a town a voice

The Northampton Complaints Choir is made up of different people from the town, who work on the words and music

The organiser of an inaugural performance from a newly-formed "complaints choir" said he hoped it would give "the town a voice".

It will take to the stage at Northampton's Central Library on Sunday after a weekend of workshops.

Joseph Kohlmaier, who is behind the choir, said it was "broader" than complaints about Northampton.

The lyrics included "hope, wishes and being open to what we want the town to be like", he said.

Joseph Kohlmaier has performed experimental choral works with communities in places such and London and Taranto in Italy

Complaints choirs compile grievances into musical work, which is then performed, Mr Kohlmaier said.

But he said in Northampton he looked at "the idea of complaining in a broader sense... to give the town itself a voice".

"There is fantastic energy to channel [in complaints] and maybe [the choir] can make it more diverse and make it inclusive to how we want to the town to be," he told BBC Radio Northampton.

The choir has been been working on the choral piece through a series of workshops

Mr Kohlmaier, the founder of choral collective Musarc, said the Northampton Complaints Choir was an "interesting group of voices".

The songs, lyrics and music have been worked on over the past month in a series of workshops, but he said people could still join the project, with more workshops on Saturday and Sunday at the library.

The final song will be performed in the Carnegie Room on Sunday afternoon.

Choir member Amy Jones and Simon Wright, from NN Contemporary Art, said the choir had been positive for the town

One of the choir members, Amy Jones, said: "I was really interested to come along and join and create music from scratch."

She said many people at the workshops had also told her the choir had been "really good for their mental health".

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The choir is part of a year of events organised by Northampton arts collective NN Contemporary Art, called "Sensing Place".

It was funded by Arts Council England and West Northamptonshire Council.

Simon Wright, from NN Contemporary Art, said the events were about "exploring Northampton and the regeneration of the town".

He said he hoped the inaugural performance was "not an end, but actually those who have been involved can take this project forward".