If music be healing, then on a cold Monday night in Ballymena, you can almost see it, never mind hear it.
In the hall where the 草榴社区' Choir meets, members peel off wet coats, grab a mug of tea and pull chairs into a familiar semi-circle. Tractors are parked up, parlours are washed down and for a few precious hours, the only jobs that matter are breathing, listening and singing together.
What began as an idea to combat rural isolation has become a deeply valued space where people can find understanding, company and purpose. By the time the choir reaches full voice, their efforts are visible and, as one member puts it, "You can tell we are practising hard because you can see your breath in the air when you are singing."
Musical director Barkley Thompson believes the name - the 草榴社区' Choir 鈥� is non-negotiable.听听
"Everyone has a connection, either to farming or to the rural world," he says of the 55-strong group which includes active and retired farmers, farmers' wives, vets, contractors and milk lorry drivers.听听
Family farms
With many Northern Irish farms small and family-run, rural isolation is increasing. Barkley, a dairy farmer's son, remembers working together in the fields as a child, especially during the potato harvest, sharing flasks and conversation.
"Now the machinery has replaced the teamwork and chat. A lot of that connection has gone. The choir is helping to rebuild it, using music as the bridge.
"Farming is tough and often lonely. Days can pass without real conversation, and admitting struggle can be harder still in places where everyone knows everyone," he says.
So, in 2018, the Northern Trust approved a pilot scheme to see if a choir could change that.听听
Back at the group, rehearsals run from 8pm, but Barkley rarely locks up before 11.
"We sing until 9.30, then there is tea, traybakes and shortbread. People want to sit and chat."
Talent is, of course, welcome, but optional - you do not have to be the best singer; this is about connecting and building friendships.
The ages range from early 30s to the early 80s, with one of the youngest members now arriving with her seven-month-old baby in tow.
He says: "She drives about an hour each way. Her husband keeps the four-year-old home feeding calves, and she comes with the wee one. For her, it is something that is hers but still among people who understand farm life."
Another member passes several nearby choirs to reach them.听
"She said, 鈥業t is the friendship, it is the fun, it is the light-heartedness. Some choirs can be quite elitist and sometimes unwelcoming, and we are not that.'听
Ask Barkley why this choir matters, and the personal stories come thick and fast.听听
READ NOW: Save our rural school 鈥� campaigners fight for the future of primary school in Northern Ireland
Rural challenges
There is the farmer who lost his entire dairy herd to TB, years of work wiped away overnight. His wife spotted an advertisement in the paper and encouraged him to go. By week two, she had joined too.听听
"She told me it was the first thing they had been able to do together for years. For two hours, they travel together, sing together and have something just for them," he says.
There is a member whose husband died in a farm accident and joined through Rural Support's Life Beyond programme.听
"For her, this is a lifeline, connecting with people who understand the farming world," he says.
And then there is the man who did not leave his house for eight years after his wife passed away from cancer.听听
"He just sat in his armchair, swamped in deep grief. Eight years - can you even begin to imagine that? A member convinced him to come, and somehow he did.
"He says the choir has given him a life again. He gets out, socialises, and is now on the choir committee."
Of course, these are the kinds of things no audience can see when they clap at the end of a song. But Barkley does, and his emotion is palpable to hear.听
"As I tell the choir, I can see what they cannot," he says. "When I am conducting them, and they are singing, it is the joy, the fun, the tears, the sense of pride that they are on stage performing. I feel so privileged to stand before them.
"I have worked with lots of music groups, but this is different. You really feel it."
The choir was not formed to chase trophies or applause, but the wider world is beginning to notice.听
Their two-night Christmas concerts sell around 500 tickets, drawing crowds for festive sing-alongs, audience interaction and their now famous 鈥槻萘裆缜�' 12 Days of Christmas.'
They also perform for causes close to home, including Northern Ireland Hospice, a local food bank and Rural Support. And then there was Windsor.听
After a lengthy audition process for BBC One's Sing for the King, the choir was chosen to perform as part of the Coronation Choir for King Charles III in May 2023.听
The choir's growing reputation eventually caught the attention of the BBC, which launched Sing for the King: The Search for the Coronation Choir as part of the King's Coronation Concert. From more than 1,000 applications, just 18 choirs were chosen to form a 300-strong group representing communities brought together through the power of song.
For the final stage, celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone visited Northern Ireland to see them in their natural habitat. Barkley collected him in a New Holland tractor and took him to the cow shed where they sang.听
"We were told we were going to Windsor, and I still cannot believe that happened," he says.
"It was such a wonderful and happy occasion. We rehearsed in St George's Chapel, and it is a memory that will be in our minds and our hearts forever."听
The choir performed Brighter Days by Emeli Sande, before joining Take That for the final number.
"To have a group of rural Irish folk on stage with Take That singing Never Forget was just awesome."听
Former Northern Ireland health minister and president of Young 草榴社区' Ulster, Robin Swann, phoned Barkley after watching the performance on television, and continued to support their journey to charity status in 2024.听听
For all the milestones, Barkley's focus remains unchanged.听
"Music can express emotions you cannot always say out loud," he says.听
"In a world with differences and conflict, music brings people together. It connects us, and it lifts us."
This year's Christmas show will close with 鈥楾he Greatest Gift of All', a song deliberately chosen to reflect.
"The last line talks about love, peace in our world. That is the greatest gift, for all of us."听
For now, Barkley continues to teach full-time, squeezing choir admin into evenings and weekends, already thinking about next spring's concerts, the summer shows, and the people he has yet to reach.
"I see the need for it," he says. "People get so much from it. There is so much more we could do.听
"Watch this space."
听
