{"id":153,"date":"2012-10-31T10:44:51","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T10:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/?p=153"},"modified":"2015-03-26T07:53:09","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T07:53:09","slug":"michelle-mcmanus-and-musichoir-hit-the-right-chord-as-they-launch-scotland-sings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/michelle-mcmanus-and-musichoir-hit-the-right-chord-as-they-launch-scotland-sings\/","title":{"rendered":"MICHELLE MCMANUS AND MUSICHOIR HIT THE RIGHT CHORD AS THEY LAUNCH \u2018SCOTLAND SINGS\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"Michelle<\/a>Singing sensation Michelle McManus and Musichoir surprised shoppers with an impromptu busking session in Glasgow today, Monday 29 October, to promote Scotland Sings – part of the Scotland\u2019s Winter Festivals programme.<\/p>\n

Michelle and her group of backing vocalists belted out a medley of tunes on Buchanan Street to mark the launch of the new initiative, designed to encourage people to sing in public between 30th November and 2nd December in celebration of St Andrew\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

The three-day event will see a series of singing events take place across Scotland, in locations including Edinburgh, Perth, Paisley, Glasgow, Dundee, Largs and St Abbs. People of all ages, backgrounds and vocal talent are being encouraged to get involved, with the aim of getting the whole of Scotland singing.<\/p>\n

Michelle McManus, winner of the 2003 series of the television show Pop Idol – who also sang for the Pope during his 2010 UK visit, said, \u201cScotland Sings is a fantastic initiative and I\u2019m delighted to be part of it. I wouldn\u2019t be the person I am today if it wasn\u2019t for singing and I can\u2019t encourage people enough to take it up – even if you you\u2019re no Beyonc\u00e9! You don\u2019t have to have an amazing voice to enjoy the experience of being part of a choir or singing group.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cSinging has loads of benefits and is a brilliant way to cheer yourself up, to make friends and to have some fun. I\u2019d really urge people to get involved with Scotland Sings and to grab a friend, your boyfriend or Mum, and sign up to an event in your area. It\u2019s going to be fantastic!\u201d<\/p>\n

Supported by EventScotland and Creative Scotland, Scotland Sings is coordinated by \u2018Hands Up for Trad\u2019, the organisers of The MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards and BBC Radio Scotland Young Trad Musician of the Year.<\/p>\n

Simon Thoumire, Creative Director of Hands Up for Trad, said \u201cScotland Sings will celebrate and present Scotland\u2019s rich singing traditions in a truly unique way. We\u2019re hoping people throughout Scotland will get involved to help establish Scotland as a singing nation, whether that be through getting together with friends for a sing-a-long, starting a band, joining a choir or signing up to a community singing group. The beauty of this project is that all you need is a voice and a sense of fun to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Humza Yousaf, Minister for External Affairs and International Development, said: \u201cScotland\u2019s Winter Festivals brings together some of our most important cultural celebrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe programme for 2012\/13 offers a spectacular mix of traditional and unusual events that will showcase Scotland\u2019s rich creativity. With such a variety of events on offer, there will be something for everyone to enjoy no matter where they are in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

To find out more about Scotland Sings events taking place in your area please visit: www.scotlandsings.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

To take part in Scotland Sings please contact: scotlandsings@handsupfortrad.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

For further information about the Winter Festivals programme please visit: www.scotland.org\/winter<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

ENDS OCTOBER, 2012
\nFor further media information, images or interviews please contact: Claire Morrison | claire@wire-media.co.uk | T: (0141) 400 6761 M: 07814 592 120
\nNOTES TO EDITORS:
\n\u2022 Scotland\u2019s Winter Festivals begin with St Andrew\u2019s Day on 30th November and include Christmas, Scotland\u2019s Hogmanay celebrations on 31st December, culminating with Burns night on 25th January.
\n\u2022 Find out more about celebrating Scotland\u2019s Winter Festivals at www.scotland.org\/winter.
\n\u2022 Funded by the Scottish Government, Scotland\u2019s Winter Festivals are delivered by the national events agency EventScotland, part of VisitScotland.
\n\u2022 St Andrew\u2019s Day is a time for everyone with a Scottish connection to celebrate Scotland\u2019s people and history, as well as our traditional and contemporary culture and our fabulous food and drink
\n\u2022 As the nation gears up for St Andrew\u2019s Day, more of Scotland\u2019s best-loved visitor and leisure attractions than ever before are embracing the celebrations by offering free or discounted offers to the public across the country
\n\u2022 Make the most of St Andrew\u2019s day, part of Scotland\u2019s Winter Festivals, by joining in the events and celebrations across the country.
\n\u2022 You can find event and visit for free activities taking place across Scotland at: www.scotland.org\/winter
\n\u2022 Like us at www.facebook.com\/standrewsday or follow us on www.twitter.com\/standrewsday<\/p>\n

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Singing sensation Michelle McManus and Musichoir surprised shoppers with an impromptu busking session in Glasgow today, Monday 29 October, to promote Scotland Sings – part of the Scotland\u2019s Winter Festivals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-news","category-uncategorized","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":885,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153\/revisions\/885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.handsupfortrad.scot\/scotlandsings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}