The Really Big Chorus brings singers with an average age of 74 to Tallinn

The 120-member Really Big Chorus, whose singers have an average age of 74, performed in Tallinn, ERR reported on its Ringvaade programme. Conductor Gavin Garr said the group’s oldest singer is 93 and that age is not important: singers need only a voice and the willingness to take part.

The choir was founded in 1974 to perform Messiah from Scratch at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The annual event brings together more than 3,000 singers who do not rehearse as a group beforehand. The choir includes singers from the United Kingdom, Europe, North America and elsewhere.

Garr said members receive the sheet music several months before a performance, along with notes on dynamics and articulation, translations and pronunciation guides. “There is no such thing as someone who cannot sing,” he said. “People do a lot of work at home. This is the choir where the most homework is done before the first rehearsal.”

The choir travelled to Estonia to perform works by Beethoven. Its free concert supports people with dementia and those close to them.

Garr said the oldest singer is 93. “All you need is a voice, the willingness to sit through rehearsals and to do the work,” he said. He added that he expects an emotional performance from singers with life experience, including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “We do not pay attention to age, because it is only a number.”

Fiona Urquhart Johnstone, 70, said learning Beethoven’s music requires focus and discipline. She said digital apps make practising easier, and that retirement gives her more time to learn and rehearse. “Travelling is part of the joy. It is a great honour to sing in Estonia,” she said. Johnstone said singers pay for their own trips and described the cost as reasonable.

Bill Forsyth, 85, said he returned to singing 50 years ago and has been in the choir for 20 years. The group began touring abroad 15 years ago, after his wife retired. “It gives the activity a purpose,” he said. “Often you go on holiday and just look for the nearest pub to eat in, but with the choir, everything you do is part of something bigger.”