Heart Song Collective (CIC) is a Community Interest Company based in Brockley, London (UK). The company was founded (and is directed by) Assamiya Zoe Bonner in 2022, and became a CIC in 2023. We run two main events: Song Medicine in SE4 (weekly 2 hour sessions during term time and monthly 3 hour sessions), and ParkSing (various dates during dry Summer months). Practically speaking, the membership of the collective fluctuates to include those who attend each session.
We are members of the Natural Voice Network and the Singing for Health Network (click the logos to visit these organisations).
We are a friendly, heart-centred and inclusive group, with a big range of singing experience and confidence. The group is different each week, as our busy lives dictate, and consequently our collective sound is always unique to the moment.
Here's a picture of some of us at our Spring Social in Hilly Fields on Easter Saturday 2023, enjoying chats & snacks & songs together :)
HSC was born out of Assamiya's heart-felt longing to reclaim singing as something fun & nourishing (after 15 years as an often-anxious professional performer), and a desire to serve her local community creatively following the Pandemic.
VALUES
Respecting difference: we come from many different walks of life - this is part of the richness of the collective! We understand that we can hold opposing views on something, and still be respectful, friendly and musically co-creative. We understand that an opinion or belief is not a Universal truth.
Non-violent communication: we speak to one another with courtesy and respect, especially when we disagree. We take responsibility for naming our own boundaries and respect those of others.
LGBTQIA+ allies: we believe that every human expression is beautiful and valuable, and that active allyship plays an important role in our community.
Antiracist: we accept that we were raised in a culture of white supremacy in the UK, and we acknowledge that our own unconscious biases will remain until we actively work to change them.
PHILOSOPHY
Every body CAN sing
When we stop worrying about what others think, and sing with fire in our bellies or peace in our hearts, the magic of it transcends narrow, mind-led judgements of the sound as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. And when a group of humans join their voices together with a shared purpose, the benefits spread far beyond the group and that moment in time. Singing is our gift, our birthright and our medicine, and we’re reclaiming it together.
Group Singing as Medicine
The multiple, scientifically-proven health benefits of relaxed group singing underpin the theory behind the Song Medicine practice. We sing for our own and our collective wellbeing, not in order to please others or as a "performance"