It will be a show on a scale My Pop Choir has never experienced. And if enthusiasm is the measure of what’s to come, then owner/director Alex Fiddes’ excitement and commitment to this extraordinary event means that it will indeed be amazing.
Late fall, 2024 MPC will present The Big Sing!
“It’s an event for our community to join together, from the GTA in-person choirs to the two Vancouver groups to virtual choir to our newest Hamilton choir,” says Alex. “It will be for everyone to come together, to sing together, to be together. And what better way to accomplish this than to put on a mass choir event.”
In the Fall 2023 session, around 620 singers participated in the My Pop Choir groups. “The amount of growth that has happened is very unexpected, very encouraging and very exciting,” says Alex.
Having so many potential singers to join in The Big Sing provides a whole new opportunity for My Pop Choir. “It will be a different experience when singing in a mass choir than in a regular choir,” says Alex.
The show will feature guest artists, including Lunar Bloom, the indie folk group that includes My Pop Choir co-owner Kelly McNamee, as well as choir director Jocelyn Regina. And Alex will invite some other very exciting guests to the event!
“But the focus will be on the mass choir,” says Alex. “There will be at least seven or eight songs in each of the two acts.”
And here’s a taste of what to expect: Bohemian Rhapsody, a favourite written by Freddie Mercury and released by Queen in 1975. My Pop Choir singers will enjoy working on this iconic and complicated song during the Winter, Spring and Fall 2024 sessions and showcase it in its entirely on the big stage!
Of course, not every choir member may dream of singing on a major stage to hundreds of people! But there will be lots of opportunities to be involved behind the scenes. “I will need a community to do this, so there will be a call for volunteers,” Alex explains. “I foresee needing at least 100 people. This is not an ‘Alex project’ - it’s a My Pop Choir event.”
Just one of these jobs will be selling the brand new My Pop Choir merchandise in the lobby. After all what adds to concert memories more than a t-shirt, cap, notebook or even a pen? Alex is planning every detail meticulously to make The Big Sing 2024 memorable for performers and audience alike.
“It’s such an exciting experience that I want to create and build for our community. This is the type of event that people will remember and cherish.”
Alex expects that people will be deeply entertained on the day. And there will be enough audience participation so that everyone will leave feeling that they have been a part of a wonderful musical experience.
“We’re going to put on a damn good show. I think it’s going to be such a blast!” he concludes.