Holiday Tutor: Ali Orbaum
Ali Orbaum has been running popular choirs and singing workshops around the UK for the past 20 years in arts centres, festivals, work places, schools and community spaces. Her work as a vocalist, arranger and choir director has taken her around the world, including leading singing holidays in France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Madeira, the Czech Republic and Southern India.
Ali’s clear, encouraging and dynamic teaching has proved popular with all ages and she is fantastic at getting a room singing in harmony in a matter of minutes. She has a relaxed and humorous style and is a committed advocate of the reality that singing in harmony is both therapeutic and enormous fun.
Based in Bristol, Ali met Dee Jarlett when she joined the acappella quartet Sweet Soul Sisters and together they formed the Gasworks Choir which has been going strong since 1997 and has over 180 members. Together they also formed the award winning vocal group Naked Voices which has several sell out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and performed at Arts Centres around the country.
In 2013 Ali founded the Handfuls of Harmony project with Roger White which brings together primary school children to sing with their teachers, parents and other schools. She also formed Sing for Water West with Chris Samuel which has held several massed choir events in Bristol and raised over £200,000.00 for Water Aid. Previously she has sung with various groups and bands including the Tea Ladies, 3 Bucket Jones and The Butterfly Effect.
She has been commissioned to arrange music and provide harmony vocals for a range of artists/organisations including Margaret Atwood, Alpha, Jane Taylor and the Redland Quakers and her small claims to fame include reaching number 28 in the hit parade with the UK version of “Make Way For Noddy”!
Ali holds a Certificate in Teaching from the ABRSM. She enjoys working with different styles of song including pop, folk, jazz and world music and loves helping other people discover that only good things will happen if you lift up your voice and join in.