Starling Arts promotes group singing for wellbeing. This work is primarily carried out through our community choirs (the Starling Voices), our partnership with the musical Wicked, and other community singing projects. In the 2024-25 period, The Starling Voices maintained healthy membership numbers, with between 60 - 70 members across the two community choirs. In May 2024 the choirs featured in Hear My Song, a concert we produced. 66 members from within our community - including those from Flock, our alumni choir - took to the stage, performing to an audience of almost 250 people. The audience was made up of our wider community of past members, friends and family. In the summer of 2024, the directors made the decision to disband the Starling Voices and for Starling Arts’ weekly choir activities to cease. This was due to changes in personal and professional circumstances and wanting to widen the reach of our work with communities. However, it was announced that the Flock community would continue with quarterly group singing sessions for any alumni members to attend. We announced that the Starling Voices’ disbanding would coincide with Starling Arts’ 15th Anniversary in January 2025. To mark the occasion we hosted a Gala night with the help of a volunteer committee made up of choir members past and present. 180 people attended the Gala, including members of our community who travelled across the country, and from abroad, to celebrate 15 years of our work. It was a joyous occasion and a reminder of the strong community roots on which Starling Arts is built. We look forward to continuing this legacy through Flock. Sing For Better Breathing, our weekly online singing group for people living with lung conditions, continued throughout the 2024/25 financial year. With around 10 regular attendees, each session attracts an average of 5 participants. Members continue to report that the sessions help them with symptom management and to learn more about their breath and vocal function following medical diagnosis and/or referral. These sessions continue to operate free of charge, supported by profits from our other work. Some members pay a small, optional contribution to take part, if they’re in a position to do so. Our partnership with the West End musical Wicked grew significantly in the 2024/25 financial year. We offer three Official Wicked Workshops in Wellbeing, Anti-Bullying and Musical Theatre. These sessions are delivered by the company directors and a team of freelance facilitators trained by Starling Arts. In the 2024/25 period, over 1,100 children and young people participated in an Official Wicked Workshop delivered by the Starling Arts team. We also offered a free workshop as part of Kids Week, the Society of London Theatre’s scheme to get young people into theatre. Feedback from teachers and students about these workshops is extremely positive, and helps us to continue to shape the future of this programme. The 2024/25 financial year also saw us delivering free holiday workshops for Hackney Young Carers and The Up Garden - an urban community hub in Forest Gate, London. We also delivered group singing activities for students in schools and additional needs settings.

Starling Arts’ stakeholders include participants of the Starling Voices, Flock, Sing for Better Breathing, and the teachers and young people who engage in our Official Wicked Workshops. Stakeholders also include participants in the other community workshops and events we offer. Other stakeholders in our work include the team of freelance facilitators and musicians we work with, audience members at our events, the Wicked Active Learning and Wicked marketing teams, and any staff from the organisations we work with in our mission to use singing as a tool for connecting communities and improving wellbeing. Our 15th Anniversary Gala celebrations were developed in consultation with a volunteer committee made up of members of the Starling Voices and Flock. We also consulted all members of our choirs to offer their input on the songs they would perform, and other content included, at the event. Teachers and group leaders are asked to share their feedback via an online form following each Official Wicked Workshop we deliver. This form assesses the quality of the workshop content, delivery, value for money, and includes any feedback from students and participants. This consultation helps us to shape the programme as we continue to develop and deliver it.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration