Dorchester's answer to Gareth Malone is busy inspiring singers of ages.

Kathie Prince runs no less than four choirs in the county town and says her ‘passion’ is working with people and encouraging them to find their voice.

She oversees the Poundbury Community Choir, which meets every Tuesday evening at the Quiet Space and has around 30 members.

Kathie has also been running the Viva women’s community choir, which meets at Dorchester Arts Centre on Thursday evenings, for the last eight years and still finds the time to run a children’s choir and a lunchtime choir.

A classically-trained musician who joined spent time working in touring theatre before settling in Dorchester after the birth of her two children, Kathie is always keen to welcome new people to her choirs and encourage more people to sing.

She said: “My passion really is working in the community with people and running choirs.

“Basically, it’s kept me going over the years, as well as other people.”

Kathie said the impact of people such as Gareth Malone, who has received mainstream media coverage for work with choirs, had helped boost interest but it was very much building on work that has been going on for years.

She said: “It has helped but it is something that has been going on in that format for years.

“I’ve been doing it for about 25 years and there are lots of people doing it.”

Kathie said people anyone can join a choir and they don’t even have to be able to read music to get involved.

She said: “My philosophy is that anyone can do it and I’m a passionate believer in the music and the benefits learning an instrument or singing can have in education and with people of any age.

“Often people can’t afford instrumental lesions but everyone has a voice so I think that’s something that if anyone wants to do it they can.”

Members of Kathie’s adult choirs range from as young as 22 to as old as 89, while her children’s choir includes youngsters as young as seven.

Anyone interested in finding out more about any of her choirs and how they can get involved can email her at Kathieprince@bt internet.com