It started as a 6 week challenge to see if the people of Witham could really form a choir and sing at the Carnival last July - over 6 months later Witham’s BIG Sing has grown so much that they are now preparing for their first BIG Sing LIVE concert at Witham Public Hall.

The choir’s co-founder Gemma Rattenbury said “We have come so far in such a small space of time. I remember our first rehearsal where we had a group of 25 very anxious but brave people who just wanted to try singing. Since then we have grown to a choir of 50 singers, performing at all of the Witham town events. We’ve had so many great experiences including singing on stage with The London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC) in Colchester last August and then we were invited to go to London and sing at LCGC’s Celebration of Gospel Choir in November. Not only have our choir members grown in confidence but we have developed a family atmosphere in the group – it’s so lovely to be a part of.”

Howard Francis, professional musician and co-founder of Witham’s BIG Sing also commented “We genuinely thought that this was going to be a six week project when we started the choir, but look at the choir now! They are very excited about having their own concert. We like to give the choir new experiences and this will certainly be one for them to remember!”

Witham’s BIG Sing Choir Member Sarah Cole commented “Witham's BIG Sing has given me a new lease of life. I love my Friday nights and look forward to them all week! I enjoy being able to be me, instead of Mum for a couple of hours.”

From the success of Witham’s BIG Sing, Gemma and Howard took The BIG Sing Choir to Maldon to create a second choir called Maldon’s BIG Sing. The Maldon group is now up to 45 members and have only been rehearsing for eight weeks. They too will be joining Witham in “The BIG Sing LIVE” concert on the 31st March at Witham Public Hall.

Gemma also adds “We are also starting a weekly children’s choir on Friday 3rd February with the aim to invite the kids to sing on stage at The BIG Sing Live Concert. The BIG Sing is about involving everyone in our community and uniting them through music - so it’s important to us to include people from all ages, backgrounds and cultures”.

Witham’s LITTLE Sing is for children aged five to 12 years old and they will meet at the United Reformed Church every Friday at 4:00PM to 5:00PM. The children will have eight weeks to learn some uplifting songs from artists such as Michael Jackson and Katy Perry to perform at the concert. Gemma said “I had so many parents who asked me to start a children’s choir after seeing how popular Witham’s BIG Sing is in the town. We already have 28 children on the books waiting for us to start! It’s so exciting for us to see how The BIG sing has developed – we never dreamed it would grow so fast!”

Witham Public Hall, who is co-hosting The BIG Sing LIVE concert, has already had a big demand for tickets. Howard said “It’s a good opportunity for our choir members to invite their friends and family and show them how much fun they have when they sing. We plan to do a few audience participation songs to get everyone singing together – it really will be a BIG Sing!”

Tickets are selling fast so make sure you are at the BIGGEST Sing in Witham. The BIG Sing Live! Saturday 31st March 2012, 7:30pm. Tickets ÂŁ6, ÂŁ5 & ÂŁ4. Box Office: 0845 017 8717 or go to www.withampublichall.co.uk

If you fancy joining Witham’s BIG Sing then contact Gemma on 01376 512292 or go to www.big-sing.com – more details below.