Scotland’s People 2021: Community choirs hail their leader for helping them through lockdown

Standing in the crowd, enjoying one of his favourite bands playing some of his favourite songs, community choirs leader Bryan Marshall had no idea he was about to become the headline act.

The emotional moment when he is pulled on stage to be hailed by rockers Del Amitri and television star Jackie Bird is part of a TV tribute to Scotland’s everyday heroes screened tonight.

Scotland’s People 2021: A Thank You hails the musician who leads several community choir groups, including the Every Voice choir, a singing group for people living with dementia and their carers which he runs in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Scotland.

Marshall said: “It was a total shock and surprise but a nice one. I’m still trying to get my head around it. That people felt so moved, or that they enjoyed the experience of the choirs so much that they went on to nominate me for the programme was really lovely for me. It is always nice to be thanked so it has been really great for me.”

Several members of his choir groups contacted the BBC independently to nominate Marshall for the programme, after he helped them get through months of difficult lockdowns with his online choir practice.

Getting his online classes up and running was initially a bit rocky, but it did not take long for Marshall to get into the groove and offer much-needed fun and solace to people who really needed it. He admitted: “I’ve never worked harder in my life.

“I try to put as much energy into my sessions as possible, but online you really had to offer more to keep them engaged.

“I discovered what it must be like to do a radio show because obviously everyone else was muted, and I couldn’t have any silence. Usually we would all sing together, or at the end of a song there’d be a cheer, but there wasn’t any of that, so I had to generate all that energy myself.

“It was very important for me to do it, because it was something for the members to do and get ready for and look forward to. We would unmute every 20 minutes for a chat, and come up with fun games and themed days to dress up, things like that. It was really good fun.”

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Marshall, from Dunoon, said that it soon became clear that he needed the online choir classes just as much as his members did. He explained: “It was as much for my sanity as it was for theirs.

“When we came out of lockdown and I started seeing people in person again, and they told me how important it meant to them, it was very touching. To be honest, I don’t think I was aware of that at the time. It was very difficult for people, who were used to seeing their friends every week, not seeing them at all. So it meant a lot to hear how important the online sessions were for people.”

Among the couples who considered the online sessions a lifeline were Kevin and Christine Moran. They had been married for 30 years when Christine was diagnosed with dementia in 2018. To help manage the symptoms of her illness, Alzheimer’s Scotland suggested a variety of groups for the pair to join, and as soon as they met with Marshall’s choir they knew they had found the right fit.

In her youth, Christine was a dancer in the BBC’s The White Heather Club and loved to sing and dance, and she responded to the choir right away. Kevin Moran said: “Christine has a natural affinity with Bryan, and the only thing Christine was really engaging with during lockdown was videos Bryan was posting on YouTube.

“That he took it upon himself to do that for his choir groups was amazing. And, on a personal basis, what he has done for us in such a short space of time, I can’t thank him enough.”

Kevin and Christine nominated Marshall to be included in the programme, along with other community choir members. As part of the show, Marshall was given the opportunity to take a choir to the Tramway in Glasgow and perform a song with a 45-piece symphony orchestra, and it was a no-brainer for him to invite Kevin and Christine along to be involved.

Marshall said: “It was quite a challenge for us, because performing with an orchestra was a big, big thing for people in the choir – they had never done anything like that before. It was so lovely to see everyone come together on the day, especially Christine. She is wonderful and such good fun. We knew she had to be part of the performance.”

The song the choir performed was Dougie MacLean’s beautifully emotive Caledonia, and it will air as the grand finale of tonight’s show. Kevin Moran knew he had to play it by ear on the day of the performance, but everything went all right on the night.

He explained: “When we were asked we were delighted to do it, but I wasn’t sure how Christine would be. But it couldn’t have gone any better.

“Everyone knew our background and made Christine feel welcome and settled. Performing with an orchestra was unbelievable, and we are so grateful that we were asked to be part of it. It was a memory that we will never forget.”

Scotland’s People 2021: A Thank You, BBC Scotland, today, 5.45pm