By: Sussex Show Choir
This year in Show Choir, to show our appreciation for the I Heart Consent initiative, we are supporting the Survivors’ Network who aim to reduce sexual violence and its impact on survivors’ lives by providing counseling and support to those in their times of need.
Back in December, to get everyone excited for the Holiday season, we took to the streets of Brighton to raise money for this wonderful cause. Positioning ourselves on New Road, outside the Theatre Royal, we sang unaccompanied for over an hour. As the evening went on, our collection bucket accumulated many donations from the generous public, as well as a member of the public taking the time to join in with some of our carols as he was enjoying our set so much.
Despite the cold weather, we managed to sing a host of Christmas carols, including Jingle Bells, The First Noel and Silent Night with a verse in German to demonstrate the cultural diversity of our members. Busking was also an excellent opportunity to sing the songs we had been working on throughout the term. Belting out the Toto classic “Africa”, we received many smiles and donations from the passing public. Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” also made a regular appearance in our busking set as it was a definite crowd-pleaser, to the extent where a couple in a local bar joined in (several times). A firm favourite of ours to perform on the street was Mika’s “Happy Ending”, arranged by our very own Pianist and Musical Director, Daisey Jones. The harmonies and uplifting melody captured the attention of people going about their evenings and caused many to stop and donate to Survivors’ Network.
In addition to raising money by busking, we also took over East Slope Bar in the penultimate week of term to showcase some of our Choir’s talent while collecting money for Survivors’ Network. As well as performing the songs we’d learnt over the term, we had several of our members perform solos, duets and group numbers to the enthusiastic crowd that filled the bar. Our East Slope Takeovers are a much-loved tradition in Show Choir as it puts everyone in a good mood and is an excellent occasion to invite all our friends to watch what we’ve been getting up to in our weekly rehearsals.
Survivors’ Network is a charity very close to our hearts in Show Choir, so we were thrilled to fundraise for them in the first term of the year. We are looking forward to continuing our support of the wonderful work they do at our Talent Show on Monday 3rd April, so hopefully we’ll see you there.
