By Una
I’d always loved singing in a group. Some of my happiest school memories came from being part of the choir; performing in shows, going to competitions and enjoying that amazing sense of camaraderie that singing together brings.
Skip forward a few (ok…maybe more than a few!) years and I’d heard about Sing! Community Choir. The rehearsals were local to me and I was encouraged by the fact that I didn’t need to read sheet music or do a scary audition. I thought I’d give it a go, thinking it might be fun and that I might enjoy it.
It was the best decision I’ve made in a long time!
I have loved coming to Sing! rehearsals every week. The whole experience has been so inclusive, welcoming and just downright fun! Even on the rare occasion I couldn’t make it, I knew I would be able to catch up using the lyrics and recorded tracks on the Google Drive.
I never felt any pressure and these were a great way to practise at home too. The rehearsals became a great social experience; it’s lovely to chat to so many different people from all walks of life and enjoy some delicious snacks very kindly provided by a different group each week.
Excitement in the air
Cut to the night of the Christmas Concert, which also happened to be the culmination of Sing!’s 10th anniversary year celebrations. Arriving at St Andrew’s Street Baptist Church, there was a sense of nervous energy and excitement in the air. We warmed up; we did some last-minute rehearsals, including practising the iconic stomp, stomp, clap to start Queen’s We Will Rock You; and we finally got to do a sound check and get on stage for the first time. Things were definitely getting real and I’m sure I’m not the only one who felt equal parts nervous and excited!
A quick dinner break, a chance for everyone to get changed into their beautiful red and black outfits and it was finally here: show time! Standing up on stage was an amazing experience. I somehow ended up on the raised platform of the stage, so had a perfect view of the audience who had given up their nights (during England’s last match in the World Cup no less!) to come and see us! The support from family and friends was just amazing and really helped to lift us all. The audience really gave it their all, even getting to join in with a very enthusiastic rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas – dance moves and all!
We sang a great mixture of Christmas and non-festive songs. Hearing all the different sections of the choir come together, along with the fantastic soloists, superb band and wonderful cabaret acts was a real highlight for me. My personal favourites included Hallelujah, Holding Out for a Hero (complete with onstage costume change!) and Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree with Jingle Bell Rock. We repeated the final song as our encore – thanks to Andy for his amazing conducting, especially the Christmas jacket and fairy lights!
Singing together with around 80 other people was an experience I will never forget. I am so thankful to everyone at Sing! for being so inviting and helping me to recapture my love of singing. I’m already looking forward to the Summer concert! ❤️
Huge thanks to our lovely 10th anniversary Christmas Concert audience, who together helped us to raise more than £1,100 in support of Cambridge Acorn Project
You can recapture the magic of all our concert videos on our YouTube channel here
Look out for more news about our Summer concert coming soon!