Evergreen scoops Chorus Award

A choir promoting dialect singing in Shetland has been honoured in the first Chorus Awards run by Scotland Sings. The Awards showcase the outstanding practice and wonderful stories of choirs right across Scotland.

Evergreen, which is led by Maria Barclay, is made up of S5 pupils who have been singing together since they were in primary school. They promote dialect singing through their many performances in the isles and beyond, helping to preserve their precious way of life and keeping the songs alive. They have recently returned from a visit to an event in Aberdeen where they were asked to perform a dialect song, a special moment for the young singers.

As well as winning the Young People award, they were also shortlisted in the Local Connection category.

Scotland Sings coordinator Alison Burns said: “We were overwhelmed by the amazing stories people shared with us. We wanted to celebrate what was special about the hundreds of singing groups that get together every week to sing together and perform in their communities. The judges were really impressed by what Evergreen is doing to keep the local dialect alive and hope that they continue to do so.”

There were over 150 nominations from across the country in the six categories and the winners included everything from a choir in Paisley with members aged 5-82 to a choir in Dumfries made up of plumbers and joiners.