An Eccles freelance educator has established a Community Choir at the Bridgewater Mill in Eccles, extending invites to any willing singers in the surrounding area, regardless of their ability or confidence with singing in public.
Lisa Lott formed the Bridgewater Choir in January to build on her experience as an educator after being a former teacher of English and Dance as well as leading a youth choir at the Miss Joane. Farnell School of Dancing.
She said: “I’ve always been quite musical and been involved in lots of amateur dramatics and productions, and already had a space I could use so I just thought I’d see if people wanted to do it.”
Emerging as a new choir in Salford, with established groups in places like Monton and Ordsall, the Bridgewater Choir originally consisted of six members before growing to 12 committed vocalists with a varying number of alternates.
With ages ranging from 18 to 70, the choir is open to all comers who are willing to give an hour on Wednesday evenings and sing as a collective.
She said: “There’s just been people who had seen it on Facebook, who live local, who live in Eccles. It’s quite heartening really, it has become a little community.
“You can see when we have someone new, how excited the members are and how members are always commenting about how good of a time everyone is having.”
Lott said that members of the group have aided her choir from wood carving custom folders for song lyrics to event planning for future performances and Christmas gatherings.
She said: “I do think it’s a community and there are people willing to do things and volunteer for things so its nice that people are enjoying their time with us.”
While a relatively fresh face, the Bridgewater Choir was invited to perform at the Salford Festival of Singing on September 13 2026. It was hosted by the Ordsall Acapella Singers at Eccles Town Hall, this event would celebrate and foster relationships between local Salfordian chorus groups as part of Salford’s Century of City Pride.
She said: “It was only after I started promoting the choir that I realised just how many choirs are actually in Salford but they invited us to come down and sing at Eccles Town Hall and that was really nice and supportive for us.
“Everybody was promoting each other and that helped get a bit of interest from locals.”
Lott maintains that success is not bringing hundreds of bodies through the door, but rather a tighter knit group.
She said: “As much as I’m not turning anyone away, I’m not desperate for masses and masses of people, just enough so people can come for the hour a week to sing and have fun and if some don’t wish to perform then we’d still have the numbers.
“To me, success is reaching 15 members, that’s the benchmark.”
For more information about Lisa and the Bridgewater Choir, contact lottlearning@hotmail.com or 07870 306335 or via Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/share/1FXsob4dCC/?mibextid=wwXIfr
