About

en Choir is a community choir for people from all walks of life. We strive to be diverse; with members of all ages and from all backgrounds.

We sing songs from all over the world, in many genres including: dance music, gospel, jazz, latin, pop and rock. Our music is specially arranged for the choir by our choir leaders: award-winning composer and sound artist Emily Peasgood, and innovative musician and musical director Phil Self.

Emily formed en Choir in 2011 as an outlet for her quirky musical arrangements of pop and soul songs. She wanted to create an inclusive choir and offer members a new and exciting singing experience. We currently have 50 members of all genders, aged 22-88, and welcome new members all year round.

Members describe en Choir as: bonkers, enjoyable, friendly, fun, inclusive, innovative, inspirational and a little bit silly. We spend rehearsals laughing, singing, learning and socialising. 

During the last ten years, television programmes have led to increased interest in group singing, partly because of its many health and wellbeing benefits. The pandemic left many of us feeling isolated. Being a part of the en Choir community is a fun way to meet and interact with new people. We don’t audition and you don’t need any musical experience to join. For many of our members, en Choir is their first singing experience. Come along – you won’t regret it! 

Emily Peasgood

The image shows Emily smiling brightly, looking a little to the right with her arms slightly raised, as she leads a choir performance. Members of the audience sit in rows behind her.

Emily Peasgood is an award-winning composer and sound artist who has led community choirs since 2006. She creates artworks which feature her original compositions, and invites members of the public to be a part of the creative process. Her artworks are interactive, reflecting her desire to create inclusive experiences in the community. 

Emily has created work for galleries and events including: Tate Modern, Turner Contemporary and Folkestone Triennial. She has exhibited many of her artworks in outdoor locations including: Fort Burgoyne, Hastings funicular railway, public lifts around the UK, and Cross Bones graveyard in Southwark. She won an Ivors Composer Award for sonic art in 2018 and received her PhD in creating accessible musical artworks in the community in 2019.

To find out more, visit her website.

Phil Self 

This is a black and white photo of Phil, wearing a flat cap and looking off to the left. He wears glasses and has a full beard. Behind him there is a digitally composed image of multi-coloured dots.

“I divide my time between singing groups and community choirs, and regular gigging, composing and touring work – enjoying the varied musical life that this offers.

I run singing groups, community choirs and singing for health groups around East Kent – working for many respected charities and organisations such as The Sidney de Haan Research Centre, The Canterbury Cantata Trust, Living Lively and Music 4 Wellbeing whilst also gigging, travelling and touring. I play regularly with several bands and artists, including Yndi Halda, Will Varley, Molly’s Lips, Cocos Lovers and The Hellfire Orchestra. I am a member of The Montrose Composers Club, a group set up to share, create, improvise and perform new musical works. The MCC have performed regularly at the Folkestone Profound Sound Festival and continue to develop interesting collaborations with local creatives such as visual artist Matt Rowe and the Sacconi Quartet who have performed some of their works. My solo project ‘DAU’ allows me the opportunity to explore soundscape and drone-based music.

I studied Music Technology and Media, Communications and Cultural Studies at Keele University where I started to develop my sound and creative music production skills focusing heavily on creative applications of technology such as electro-acoustic composition and video production.”

To find out more, visit his website.