The Big
Song Relay

June - July 2014

NEWSLETTER 1
Background, General Information, Dates of Baton Route

Welcome on board The Big Song Relay. To keep you all informed of the latest developments weâ€™re planning to send out an email every few weeks from now until your local relay day. They will be numbered and should act as a reference document of FAQs and Answers. If you have specific questions youâ€™d like us to answer, please email info@aliburns.co.uk

The Big Song Relay is produced by Hands Up For Trad as part of the Big Big Sing, produced by Glasgow UNESCO City of Culture.

Background

This event will be part of the Big Big Sing - a programme of events to celebrate singing at the Commonwealth Games and throughout 2014.
The aim is to have 40 performances from choirs to greet the baton carriers as they run the length and breadth of Scotland in the weeks leading up to the opening of the Commonwealth Games on 24^th July 2014. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring together Scotlandâ€™s singers in a huge community of song and for you to be part of the vibrant and growing network of choirs and singers round Scotland.

The Song

The Big Song Relay will celebrate the arrival of the baton in each city and town throughout Scotland with a specially commissioned song - passed like a baton between choirs in different areas.

Karine Polwart,
Phil Cunningham,
Alison Burns and Findlay Napier make up the songwriting team.

Once the song has been recorded weâ€™ll put it up online for you and your singers to download.

Performing The Song

In order to make the experience as accessible as possible to a wide range of people you can choose the performance version that will best suit your group.

You might want to just sing in unison to a backing track that weâ€™ll provide. This might be a good option if youâ€™re planning a â€˜open to all comersâ€™ approach without much rehearsal or if your group has lots of inexperienced singers.

Or if your choir is more ambitious you may want to go for the 4 part harmony unaccompanied version that will also be available.

And of course you can choose your own version in-between those options too.

All the separate harmony parts, backing parts and written music will soon be available for singers to download.

How Do I Get Started?

We have a huge variety of people showing interest in being part of The Big Song Relay: choirs; administrators, arts development workers and choir committee members; choir leaders with and without regular singers or groups; schools and school choirs.

In some Local Authority areas we have several groups signed up and in a few we are still searching. We're looking forward to working with you all by putting nearby groups in touch and finding out what might work best in your area. You may want to join in with an established choir, or to open your group out to the public or create a brand new for this event. Or you may want to bring together all your existing local choirs and music groups. In some Local Authority areas the baton will be passing through while the school term is still running. If you want to include your local school as part of the performance then get have a look below at the dates then find out from your Local Authority to see if this is the case in your area.

Some Local Authorities have begun a process of community engagement to find out what groups are interested in joining in on the day. If you want to be proactive and be part of this process in your local area then get in touch with your council and find out when the public meetings are.
Your Local Authority contact will also be able to give you information regarding funding you may be able to apply for. This could, for instance, support you as a self employed freelance choir leader to go into schools and other groups in your area, to run public rehearsals and build a choir for the day.

Itâ€™s really up to you to begin making links with other choirs and organisations in your area and thinking about how youâ€™d like to run your Big Song Relay Choir. Once youâ€™ve thought about it, do get in touch and let us know of your plans and we'll do what we can to help you make them happen.

When Will The Baton Relay Be In My Area?
Lots of you have been asking what day the baton will be in your area so you can plan ahead. In the next newsletter there will be details of how you can find out what towns the baton will be traveling through and where the evening civic event will take place in each region. Here are the dates:
14^th June Edinburgh
15^th June West Lothian
16^th June Midlothian
17^th June East Lothian
18^th June Scottish Borders
19^th June Dumfries and Galloway
20^th June South Ayrshire
21^st June East Ayrshire
22^nd June South Lanarkshire
23^rd June North Lanarkshire
24^th June Falkirk
25^th June Clackmannanshire
26^h June Fife
27^th June Dundee City
28^th June Angus
29^th June Aberdeenshire
30^thJune Aberdeen
1^st July Shetland Islands
2^nd July in transition
3^rd July Moray
4^th July Perth and Kinross
5^th July in transition
6^th July Stirling
7^th July in transition
8^th July Eilean Sian, Comhairle nan
9^th July in transition
10^th July Orkney
11^th July Highland
13^th July Argyle and Bute
14^th July Inverclyde
15^th July North Ayrshire
16^th July East Renfrewshire
17^th July Renfrewshire
18^th July West Dumbartonshire
19^th July East Dumbartonshire
20^th July Glasgow City
21^st July Glasgow City
22^nd July Glasgow City
23^rd July Glasgow City Opening Ceremony

The Big Song Relay Training Day
The Training Day for the song will run on April 5^th at Victoria Hall in Dunblane. It will be a wonderful chance to meet and network with other song leaders from all over Scotland as well as learn the song, share and explore issues connected to working with big groups of singers. The day will begin at 10.30 and run until 4.30pm. All refreshments and lunch will be provided. The hall is handily located opposite the rail station and next to the bus station.

The Big Song Relay