Chew Valley Big Sing
The rafters of Chew Valley School hall were lifted on 30 September 2023 as around 230 singers from across the valley sang happily and harmoniously under the expert direction of Bristol choir master David Ogden.
The Chew Valley Big Sing was born when the leaders of four local choirs decided to promote choral singing more widely across the valley to all singers of all abilities. Caroline Lowe (Better than Chocolate, Singaholics and Vox in Frox), Catherine Hunt and Mia Thursby-Pelham (Chew Valley Choral Society) invited all choirs in the valley to participate, as well as any individual singers who fancied a day out to experience the fun of singing together in harmony.
Everyone learned seven pieces from scratch, guided with humour and skill by David. He coaxed and cajoled each part, from low energy and insecure beginnings to highly engaged and highly joyful renditions of such diverse pieces as Handel’s Hallelujah chorus to jazz and South African freedom songs in a teatime concert.
The participating choirs (Better Than Chocolate, Chew Valley Choral Society, Harptree Parish Choir, Priddy Singers, Singaholics, Vox in Frox) each sang a short selection of their repertoire in the concert, so all present could hear the wide variety of choral styles available to them on their doorstep. Literature in the hall gave details of those choirs, plus the many others available.
The event could not have happened without a donation from another local choir (Cats Whiskers) and financial support from Paragon Music Trust and Valley Arts, enabling the ticket prices to be kept as low as possible while covering costs. Other key players in the day were David Bednall for his tireless and skilled accompaniment, Chew Valley School for hosting the event and their wonderful PTA who fuelled the singers with tea and cake.
Plans are already underway to make this an annual event, thanks to the enthusiastic response of those who attended.