Women's choir gather £18k for music charity

An American women's choir has raised more than £18,000 in support of Scotland's music and social change charity, Sistema Scotland, as it prepares to perform in the historic heart of Scotland.

- KAIYA MARJORIBANKS

Voices from the Heart, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, are singing alongside the community chorus from Big Noise Raploch in a special concert at the historic church of the Holy Rude in Stirling on Friday, June 27.

The 200-strong choir is known for its mix of soulful music from different traditions and its community work and some 80 members will travel to Scotland to perform later this month.

Founded in 1995, it brings together women from New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts to rehearse, perform and share the joy of music.

The choir, based in New Hampshire, organises trips abroad combined with support for communities in the places they visit.

They previously raised money for youth charity Friends Forever and for organisations tackling domestic abuse in Ireland for a trip in 2001, and fundraising to clear a minefield in Croatia in 2007.

They have also supported aid projects in Cuba and South Africa.