Thula Mama – Salisbury, Wiltshire

Thula Mama - Salisbury, Wiltshire - Choir in Salisbury, United Kingdom| ChoralNation | Thula Mama groups are designed specifically to nourish the needs of mums as well as their babies, and mums-to-be are included in this. Thula Mama is named after a traditional South African lullaby which translates as ‘Hush, Be Quiet, Don’t Cry’. Groups have been running successfully since 2002, having been started in Totnes by Helen Yeomans, a Devon-based singer/songwriter. Helen was interviewed about Thula Mama on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Radio 2 in 2007, and Thula Mama has also featured in The Green Parent magazine. Far from traditional singing groups where children get together and sing, at Thula Mama it is the mums who sing to soothe their babies who are aged from newborn to the pre-crawling stage, and some who have yet to be born. Chosen from around the world, mums learn lullabies and nursery songs, as well as simple favourites that have stood the test of time such as soothing Taize chants, uplifting gospel songs, blues and folk all in beautiful acappella harmony. Sue Williams is an experienced mother of four, singer and trained Natural Voice Practitioner who has already (over 4 years ago) set up and still runs the weekly Gillingham Community Choir every Thursday evening. With her own children all now adults, and having a passion for helping others to discover the benefits of singing, she has been exploring how to introduce this wonderful, ancient form of communication to mums-to-be and mums with new babies to aide their natural bond-building.