Back in Autumn 2009, after seeing The Choir with Gareth Malone on BBC TV, the library staff at East and North Herts NHS Trust were inspired to find out if anyone was interested in attending a one-off singing event.
We were aware that many people would like to sing but are a little nervous about joining an established choir either because they can’t read music, haven’t sung before or haven’t sung for a while. So our event was intended for anyone who wanted to sing regardless of whether or not they had any experience.
We had our first singing session on Saturday 24 April 2010, with Michael Price directing us. Michael is a composer and music editor who works on film and TV scores, most famously for the BBC TV series "Sherlock".
It was a two and a half hour informal session attended by around 35 people. We sang Ticket to Ride by the Beatles, I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables and Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon. The day was a great success and there was such a lot of interest that the choir, known as “Singing for the Terrified”, was formed and initially met once a month under the direction of Michael Price.
The choir's name was changed to Just Sing! Community Choir in April 2012.
In May 2012 we increased our rehearsals to two a month and were pleased to welcome a second musical director, Penny Manser, to work with us alongside Michael Price. When Michael stepped down in April 2013 Penny became our sole musical director. In 2017 Penny stepped down and we were pleased to welcome Paul Fothergill as our new musical director.
Weekly rehearsals, during term times, started in September 2013 when we moved into a rehearsal venue at the North Herts College. In 2016 the college gave us notice that they couldn’t accommodate our rehearsals any more, and after experimenting with a couple of venues the choir has settled at our current venue, Grace Community Church.
Since the formation of the choir we have performed at many varied venues and events. Our first public performance was at David's Bookshop Christmas Fayre, in Letchworth on 26th November 2010. Since that time we have performed at the Bennington Lordship, Anglesey Abbey, Wimpole Hall, Hatfield Galleria and have now sung in the Gordon Craig Theatre on several occasions. For several years the choir attended and performed at the Community Choirs Festival in Stratford Upon Avon.
