Huge thanks to everyone who came along to the Sing! Summer Concert in July. We had a blast Puttin’ on the Ritz for you – and you helped us to raise more than £1,000 for Red Balloon Learner Centre – Cambridge ! 
You can now watch back your favourites from our concert YouTube playlist.
By Alex
For a few weeks already at Sing! we could feel an extra ripple of excitement in the air as we all knew this year’s weekend away was just around the corner. As laptops shut and office doors closed on Friday afternoon, Thetford forest felt tantalisingly close.
This year we returned to Thorpe Woodlands Adventure Centre, which for some felt like an old friend, whilst for newer choir members such as myself it was an exciting unknown. As we approached on the tranquil roads, we could already feel the restorative effects of the forest descending.
Friday evening was a time to spend as we pleased, to find our bunk rooms (or for some of us, our peaceful pods amongst the trees), eat together and play board games in the spacious common area. Some of the earlier birds amongst us eagerly signed up to set up breakfast the following morning (but there were plenty of jobs more suited to the night owls too!)
On Saturday morning we were treated to bright sunshine. Some keen runners headed out early to take part in Thetford Parkrun a 10 minute drive away. Others soaked up the morning rays in an impromptu shady reading corner under the canopy of the trees.
The day’s activities then started. Several talented choir members had organised workshops to share their enjoyment of their hobby with others:
Thanks to all the dedicated workshop organisers for their hard work and enthusiasm!
As well as the workshops, a number of activities were led by the dedicated staff at Thorpe Woodlands (many thanks to Luke and Isis for running these activities for us). A raft-building competition saw two teams build rafts and launch them on the River Thet. Testament to the engineering skills of the teams, everyone stayed dry (until they all jumped into the river to cool off from the heat of the day, that is!)
The tree trekking activity took place in the forest and included navigating two different high-ropes courses between the trees and also climbing trees using handholds and an auto belay system. Jumping from a platform metres above the ground, relying on a harness to slow our fall, certainly got the adrenaline going! A special mention has to go to Becca who chose to climb barefoot, much to the initial bemusement and then awe of the instructors.
The third venue-led activity was focused on team building, with such games as trying to fill a bucket with water as quickly as possible using water carried in a pipe filled with holes (resulting in quite a few somewhat damp choir members!) and a blindfolded trust trail through the forest.
Of course, no day on a Sing! weekend away could pass without… singing! As the light faded in the evening, we all gathered around the campfire and sang choir repertoire past and present.
Sunday came just as bright and warm as Saturday, and we were all looking forward to taking part in a choir workshop run by Stuart, a professional choir leader who had travelled all the way from Manchester to join us. He started out by teaching us two gospel songs which were great fun to sing, and encouraged us to sing with our whole bodies, and our facial expressions, not just our voices, coaxing out the meaning and emotions in the words we were singing.
A particular highlight was the culmination of the workshop, standing round in a massive circle in the forest clearing singing our hearts out. Stuart also gave very insightful feedback on a couple of the songs we had been learning this term, bringing out our inner backing singers for “You Make My Dreams” and having us rising passionately from our chairs for the bridge in “Already Home”. Thanks so much to Stuart for teaching and inspiring us – we’ll all be drawing on what we learned in our singing over the coming weeks of rehearsals.
All too soon, the weekend came to an end. I speak on behalf of the whole choir when I say that the weekend away brings us closer together through not just singing but our shared enjoyment of other activities and being amongst nature. A very special mention must go to Jon who organised us all to make the weekend away the success it was.
Not long now until our Summer concert! We’re back at Netherhall School on Saturday, 13 June from 7.30pm at Netherhall School in Cambridge for an evening of joy and music, celebrating the power of song!
Tickets are £10 (£5 for concessions) – under tens go free. All proceeds to Red Balloon Learner Centres, Cambridge providing an alternative to school which enables young people to re-engage with education.
Two dates for your diary this summer!
Firstly, we’re excited to be performing at the free Music in the Parks event on Sunday 16 June from 3-5pm at Romsey Rec, Cambridge. You can expect our usual mix of joyful song on stage from about 4pm.
We’re delighted to invite you to Sing! Community Choir’s Summer Concert 2024 on Saturday, 13 July at 7.30pm at Netherhall School in Cambridge. Come and join us for an evening of fun & sunny music. We’d love to see you there!
We’re thrilled to share the wonderful news that Sing! Community Choir’s Winter Concert “Glow” raised £1,000 for the brilliant Cambridge City Food Bank , providing aid to local families in crisis.
It was great to see so many of you come out and support us, and this wonderful cause.
Photos and audio from the concert are now online. You can also watch back your favourites from our concert YouTube playlist.
Our Winter concert is just around the corner – join us on Saturday, 10 February from 7.30pm at Netherhall School in Cambridge for an uplifting evening of music and songs to banish the winter blues!
Tickets are £8 (£5 for concessions) – under tens go free. All proceeds to Cambridge City Food Bank to Cambridge City Food Bank, supporting local people in crisis around Cambridge.
We have two exciting events coming up that you won’t want to miss!
The first event is our performance at the Mill Road Winter Fair. This is a wonderful annual celebration of the diverse and vibrant community of Mill Road. We will be singing at St Philips Church at 2pm on Saturday 2 December. Come and join us for a mix of festive singing and good cheer. The performance is free and everyone is welcome!
The second event is our 2024 Winter concert. This is our big showcase of the term, where we will share the songs we have been working on for the last few months. The concert will be on Sat 10 Feb at 7:30pm – save the date! We are looking forward to singing our hearts out and making you smile!
We hope to see you at our events and thank you for your support!
We’re on the look-out for more low-voiced members for our choir in September 2023 to join our Tenor and Bass sections (our Alto and Soprano sections are currently full).
No auditions or experience is necessary! Music is taught by ear, so you don’t need to read music. We meet on Thursday evenings during Cambridge school term times at Hills Road Sixth Form College. Subscriptions are kept low to keep Sing! accessible to all.
Learn more about what we sing (and how much we enjoy singing it) by checking out our most recent concert videos.
If you’d like to have a go at singing in our fun, friendly choir, then join us for our free taster sessions from 7th September 2023. We’ll be learning material right from the start that we’ll carry on through the term. Our taster sessions run for three weeks:
The best option is to come along on the 7th if you can – if you then decide to join the choir you won’t have missed anything!
If you’re not free on 7th then you’re also very welcome to come and try us out on one of the subsequent weeks.
We’re thrilled to share the wonderful news that Sing! Community Choir’s Summer Concert raised more than £1,320 for the charity Home-Start Cambridgeshire, which supports struggling families across our county.
Huge thanks to all the Sing!ers – and their amazing friends and family – who gave so generously at our summer concert on 8 July, which saw a sell-out audience dancing in the aisles. At nearly 300 people, it was our biggest audience yet and it was definitely a night to remember!
Aaron Venables, Chair of Trustees for Home-Start Cambridgeshire, said: “We are delighted that Sing! Community Choir chose to support Home-Start Cambridgeshire. Their summer concert was a fantastic way to show support to a charity that has community at its heart, and the money raised will go directly to help families who have fallen on tough times, here in the county we all call home.”
Photos and audio from the concert are now online. You can also watch back your favourites from our concert YouTube playlist.
Find out more about Home-Start Cambridgeshire’s vital work here.
Summer’s here! Why not join us for our Summer Concert on Saturday, 8 July from 7.30pm at Netherhall School in Cambridge for an uplifting evening of music with songs ranging from Frankie Valli to Whitney Houston to the Greatest Showman.
Tickets are £8 (£5 for concessions) – under tens go free. All proceeds to HomeStart Cambridgeshire to help support families in need across the county .