National Foundation for Giving Voice

Biographies: Caroline Thorpe

The most recently qualified GV teacher, Caroline brings “energy, enthusiasm and inspiration” to the groups she teaches. She has always loved to sing but didn't find what she was looking for singing in choirs. Singing and training with Jill has enabled her to find and truly connect with the song in her heart. She is a very practical person and has considerable experience of ‘Applied Giving Voice'. She lives in Sheffield, where she works as a librarian in a university supporting IT and library systems.

Caroline says "I have always liked to sing, but find it hard to sing harmonies, or even to keep singing the tune when others start to harmonise, I am easily pulled into following what others are doing. In my late twenties I went to a Frankie Armstrong weekend and was very impressed with her skill at bringing out the voices of the participants; I also realised that I had more confidence than I had realised. Later I started to go to residential co-counselling events and I loved the way songs were used there. Short songs and chants were quickly taught and shared and used to bring the community together.
I joined a choir for a while when I first moved to Sheffield, I enjoyed it when I had learnt the songs but I found reading music was hard mental effort and I was not confident in my ability to consistently sing the correct notes in a part.

In the mid 1990s a friend suggested that I come to the Sheffield Chanting group which was being led by Jill Rakusen. I loved it immediately. Jill made learning the songs so easy and fun. The freedom to improvise, seemed to release my fear about getting it wrong and my true voice began to be liberated. As Jill developed Giving Voice, I started to go to advanced courses and Residentials and continued to recognise and develop the relationship between my true self and singing voice. I particularly enjoyed improvisation days, where I discovered that I could produce sounds that harmonised pleasantly with others and did not have to worry about whether I was singing the “right” thing.

I loved singing songs and chants with others and recognised that Giving Voice was helping me grow spiritually. So I decided to sign up for the Giving Voice trainee scheme which was a really rewarding experience. When I had finished the traineeship, I was completely amazed that I might be considered “good” enough to train to be a GV Teacher, but I now realise what a lot I have to offer.

In the last 5 years my musical skill has developed, helped by loads of music lessons from Jill. I have come to realise how much I have mistrusted my own inner experience, waiting for others to let me know whether I was singing correctly. I would either sing well or not and I did not believe that I could do any thing to change that. I am just starting to discover that I have much more power and skill than I thought I could possibly have. "

Caroline has cofacilitated several Giving Voice Residentials at Purley Chase and leads regular courses in Sheffield and Manchester.

Caroline can be contacted via the National Foundation for Giving Voice.