A community choir from Ferguslie Park are yet to come down from an “incredible” opportunity that saw them inhabit the upper echelons of British celebrity society when they performed for King Charles at the recent Coronation event.
The Paisley Daily Express reported earlier this month how the small group of volunteer singers had been contacted by the BBC asking them to sing for the king at a special concert at Windsor Castle featuring the likes of Lionel Richie, Take That, and Katie Perry at the celebration on Sunday, May 7.
Bobbie McCabe, volunteer coordinator at the Tannahill Centre, where the group meets every Monday lunchtime, said she was “still on a high” from their performance and that “it was such an incredible experience”, and “way more” than they’d expected.
Not only did the 14 Ferguslie Park singers have the chance to meet and sing with around 200 members from other community choirs around the UK, but they also got to meet some A-listers and absolute superstars of the music industry.
“We met Take That at our rehearsal and then we sang along with them in the big finale at the concert. And we got to watch the dress rehearsal of Lionel Richie, Sir Bryn Terfel, and Andrea Bocelli,” explained Bobbie.
The concert was attended by an audience of around 20,000 and was broadcast to millions, with the BBC saying that it was watched by an average of 10.1 million over the course of the programme, with a peak audience of 12.3 million.
Bobbie added: “It was a massive event, and to think that there was an audience of 20,000 people in the arena when we came to sing, it was amazing, we’re just a wee Ferguslie Park community choir, there were just fourteen of us. It was very surreal.
“Everybody embraced it because we were so well prepared, we’d done so many rehearsals that we just knew it so well, and we got to a point where we were able to just focus on enjoying it, it was phenomenal.”
Not every member of the choir was able to attend the event, but those who missed it were given the lowdown by the rest of the choir, who met up for an afternoon tea following the show, where they shared all their anecdotes with those who missed it.
“We’re all feeling really connected. It’s been a huge bonding experience for all of us,” said Bobbie.
And with the choir still riding high on that wave of positivity, they’re getting ready to give a performance back in their hometown next week.
“We have a concert at 8pm on Friday, June 2 at the Tannahill Centre. Everybody’s welcome, it’s free of charge. We’re going to tell the story of going to Windsor Castle and we’ll be singing Brighter Days by Emeli Sandé, which is what we sang at the Coronation Concert.”
And audiences will be in for a spectacle, with Bobbie saying the confidence that performing for the King has given them is still coursing through the choir.
“I think the confidence that singing to an audience of 20,000 people gives to a wee community choir can hardly be measured. You know, it’s phenomenal. Life changing,” added Bobbie.
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