Members of the school choir joined hundreds of other pupils from a number of primary schools from across the length and breadth of Cornwall in the Hall for Cornwall in Truro to be part of an inclusive celebration of music called The Big Sing.

Over the weeks, in preparation for event, the school choir has been practising the songs that comprised the repertoire for the event. The singers were supported on stage by some of the talented members of the Cornwall Youth Choir and some accomplished instrumentalists from the Cornwall Youth Orchestra, aided and abetted by leaders Matt and Angela.

We arrived punctually at the Hall for Cornwall and were ushered to the row of seats in the auditorium allocated to us. After introductions had been made to the musicians on the stage, we performed some voice-warming exercises, which were followed by rehearsal of the eight songs we would be singing later in the afternoon.

After lunch, having jealously guarded our food from the squadron of piratical gulls that was flying sorties over the large pedestrian area outside the theatre, we returned to our seats, ready and fortified, to sing our hearts out in performance and make a concerted attempt to raise the hall’s roof. With almost all of the more than 1200 seats occupied with enthusiastic, exuberant singers, the result of all our efforts was a spiritually uplifting celebration of ‘community’ singing, in which it was undoubtedly the case that the total effect was considerably greater than the sum of the individual parts. Fortunately, the roof wasn’t ‘uplifted’ - but we definitely gave it good go!

It had been a long haul down and back to Truro, but it was a journey that was certainly worth undertaking, with the reward of an experience that will live long in our memories.