Try us. We’re nice
200 (ish) singers singing beautiful tunes
Gurt Lush Choir started back in 2009 with a view to playing a concert or two… Fast forward a decade or so and we’ve grown so much there are now three choirs in different locations of Bristol. We get together for workshops, concerts and busking. Most of our members (AKA “Lushers”) rehearse in just one location but some of the most dedicated (crazy?) of Lushers come to all three!
Gurt Lush is, in our opinion, the best open access choir in the UK and one of the best choirs in Bristol. As such our choral repertoire covers really broad cross section of tunes, often in 8 part harmony. We sing a huge variety of styles including, folk (from all over the world, including Bulgaria, Ukraine and Northumbria), spiritual, pop, classical and experimental oddness. Very few of the songs we sing are easy. It’s hard work but we all work on it together (most of us aren’t trained) with Sam in rehearsals. It’s not easy but when we’ve worked on a set of tunes and it all comes together – it’s a thing of ethereal beauty.
Sam Burns
Sam is the founder and conductor of Gurt Lush Choir. He arranges most of the songs we sing and is a bit of a Bristol legend.
Sam grew up in Bristol, had an unremarkable education & failed to complete 6 th form. He then spent 7 years touring with famously unsuccessful local band ‘The Moonflowers’, best known for playing naked at Ashton Court Festival, setting fire to their trousers, &
harassing Avon & Somerset Constabulary in large cardboard fish costumes.
In 1993 he moved to rural Normandy & spent another 7 years working as, variously, Site Labourer, Antiques Restorer, Head Gardener to a large château & General Builder. Around the year 2000 he started teaching electric & double bass, & sax, cello, guitar &
singing at the village music school. He directed whole class singing in many local primary schools & nurseries, & ran rock, world & early music workshops in local music schools. He also started directing several village choirs, largely by accident.
In 2008, he returned to Bristol where he worked in primary & secondary schools across the city as a singing teacher & choir leader.
He started the Gurt Lush Choir in October 2009, which swiftly grew to the 200+ members it has today. In 2016 he created Bristol MAN Chorus, which is popularly considered to be the handsomest choir in the world.
He still claims to be the most useful wheel-barrow labourer of all Bristol’s choir leaders.
Or (short version)
Sam grew up in Bristol, had an unremarkable education & failed to complete 6th form.
He claims to be the most useful wheelbarrow labourer of all Bristol’s choir leaders.
No one believes him.