Drifting off to her mother’s operatic lullabies every night clearly had an influence on 55-year-old singer, conductor of the Bournemouth Community Gospel Choir and artist, Ali Sharpe. Here, she shows us how important music and art are to her.
Growing up, Ali moved from school to school, “I felt a bit uprooted because every time I felt I had made friends, Mum and Dad would decide to move. It was quite frequent; it seemed to be about every three years.” Then, at 15, Ali was involved in a car accident in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. She had to take a year out of school to recover, and ever since the accident has suffered from epilepsy. As a consequence she had to re-sit her O levels, but couldn’t get her heart back into studying. With the encouragement of her teachers she took on a Teacher Training course in Art, and, due to her impressive art portfolio, succeeded in getting a place without A levels. Since then Ali has also gained a Music Diploma in 1997 at Trinity College, London, and has been a music teacher at a number of schools. She now teaches piano and singing during the week at her home in Winton.
On entering her semi-detached house, it is hard to ignore the stunning artwork showcased in every room. “As a child I was always very creative. Whether it was painting, drawing or sticking things together…just inventing stuff!” When describing her work she says, “I love pictures to have rhythm and movement to them. It’s the same way I feel about music really. There should be movement and harmony and balance. I would definitely say that colour reflects my personality; my whole house is colours!” And this is clear as we walk from her leaf green music room, into her deep red living room. You can tell she has been in charge of the decoration. “Colour is definitely important for me when I am doing my artwork; colour and stories. I love drawing people, even though I am no good at them.” As an observer of her artwork, Ali is extremely modest, since the people in her drawings complement her abstract yet striking masterpieces seamlessly.
Ali’s passion for music began as a child listening to her mother singing opera and playing the piano. Ali plays piano too, having lessons from an early age. But her real passion has always been singing and this passion is what lead to her setting up the Bournemouth Community Gospel Choir in 2001.
Ali has been the conductor of Bournemouth Community Gospel Choir since it began nine years ago. During these years the choir has grown, with about forty to fifty singers across an age spectrum of sixteen to eighty who attend each week. Ali is fun, trendy, wacky and doesn’t take herself too seriously, and this rubs off on the choir. They don’t turn up to sing note perfect, or to win awards, or practise a song till they can sing no more! They come to Ali’s sessions to enjoy singing and have fun; the awards and beautiful harmonies are just an added bonus.
Ali leads choir practises at the YMCA Hall in Winton. Among the bustling crowd of singers is Julia, who has been with the choir for over five years. “I joined after watching Ali and the choir performing in the town square. Their energy and enthusiasm drew me in and I’ve been here ever since!” When I ask about Ali she says “she is just so lovely, she is so talented in what she does and creates a brilliant atmosphere here.” Anne, another member of the choir agrees, “she’s perfect!”
Suddenly everyone stands up and the session commences. Watching these men and women of all ages singing together as a community is really quite moving and something that’s not often encountered. “The friendships that are formed are lovely.” Ali explains that the choir goes on trips together and that their experiences strengthen their friendships. “When we did a performance in Prague we were meant to be performing in this big, beautiful, Catholic church. Because it was so hot within, we began warming up outside. When I turned around I saw people had started gathering behind me. There must have been hundreds! You could see them coming from all areas and there were kids dancing and old ladies sitting on walls and it was just such a fantastic atmosphere. We went away as a choir feeling so rewarded and as a group we’ve never forgotten that amazing experience.”
It is great to see Ali settled in Bournemouth with her loving husband and her family close by. Ali‘s son Dillan, 27, married earlier this year and daughter Naomi, 25, works in entertainment on a cruise ship. When I ask about her husband, Bob, Ali blushes and replies, “We’ve been together thirty years and I’m still madly in love with him. We’re getting older now. When I was younger I just longed to be out gigging and socialising, these days I sometimes just like a bit of stillness; just Bob and me.”
People who have met Ali have a lot of respect for her. She has a number of voluntary gigs and events lined up; selfless acts which invariably help others. But what is most important is that she has created for herself a life based on the things she loves; art, music and family.
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