STARS from Britain’s Got Talent are set to headline this year’s Gala Charity Concert in Rugby.
Community choir The BIG Sing, which shot to fame on the ITV talent show, will top the bill at the concert when it returns in March for the first time since the pandemic brought the curtain down on the 2021 show.
They will be joined by The Band of Central England – formerly the Jaguar Land Rover Band – for the concert, at which they will perform a range of pop, gospel, soul and inspirational songs.
Proceeds from the night, which is being organised by Rugby Dunsmore Rotary Club and Friends of The Hospital of St Cross, will go to support three Rugby charities – Shine A Light, New Directions Rugby, and the Friends themselves.
Rugby-based The BIG Sing, which has members aged between three and 83, won over the judges following their television appearance at the Britain’s Got Talent quarter-finals last year. They have also performed alongside such names as Mica Paris, David Grant and Ellie Goulding, and have toured with Leona Lewis.
The Jaguar Land Rover Band – now known as the Brass Band of Central England – performing at the 2019 Gala Charity Concert.
Big Sing manager Bernie Dawson explained: “Uniting communities with uplifting and motivating music, inspired by gospel music and teaching, The BIG Sing is more than a choir; we are a ‘family’.
“So many members have found the choir to help them through loneliness, depression, grief, illness and have given them two hours a week to find ‘them’ again.
“The choirs have been growing from strength to strength in number and ability, showing the members that together we can achieve greatness.
“The choir is working hard to show community singing at its best. The members are people from the local community who have a desire to sing. The BIG Sing gives them the opportunity to be taught by expert tutors, turning the choir into an amazing sound and giving them unique performance opportunities.”
The Rotary Club’s Mike Folly said: “It is great to be back in partnership supporting The Friends of St Cross and our other charities by organising this evening.
“We believe everyone has missed the excitement of these mass band and choir events, and to be back raising the roof of this iconic venue at Rugby School will stir hearts and create a real feel-good factor for the people of Rugby.”
The Friends of St Cross donates equipment and supports projects which improve the experience of patients attending the hospital.
President of The Friends, Willy Goldschmidt, said: “We are most grateful for the support we have received from Rugby Dunsmore Rotary over the last 10 years.
“Thanks to them and the community in Rugby, we were able to spend £167,000 last year buying equipment which improved the experience of patients or brought NHS hospital services closer to the town.”
New Directions Rugby supports people with learning disabilities and their families and carers to lead a full and valued life.
CEO Paul Tolley said: “As a local charity supporting over 100 vulnerable adults on a daily basis to live life to the full, it is fantastic to receive support and recognition from fundraising events such as this which help us to raise our profile, increase the number of people we support and reach a greater number of families.”
Shine A Light delivers support services and a community for children and young people with cancer and their families in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Visit www.shinealight.uk and www.newdirectionsrugby.org.uk for information on the charities.
This year’s charity gala takes place on March 10 at The Temple Speech Room in Rugby. Visit https://bit.ly/4aUl97s for tickets priced at £16.
