Powering the Big Yellow Choir (and much more) - meet Jen!

When the Big Yellow Choir takes to the stage next week, at the Abbots Langley Festival, one group of unsung heroes will have played an extraordinary part in making the big night happen!

Here's what you need to know:

• Big Yellow Choir is back on stage this Wednesday (29 June)
• Like everything we do, the Abbots Langley Festival performance wouldn’t be possible without our volunteers 
• People like Jen go above and beyond helping us power the magic 
• Our Big Yellow Choir leader Claire says she, “represents everything that makes Electric Umbrella special” 

When the Big Yellow Choir takes to the stage next week, at the Abbots Langley Festival, one group of unsung heroes will have played an extraordinary part in making the big night happen!

Our volunteers are the beating yellow heart of everything we do at Electric Umbrella.

It’s because of people like Jen Good that we’re able to create these amazing music experiences with learning disabled people - and in doing so change the way the world thinks about them.   

“Jen is a perfect example of how volunteers make all the difference for Electric Umbrella, both behind the scenes and in front of them,” our operations manager Steve Joy says.

“An established singer in several local bands, she was a founder member of the Big Yellow choir, and is one of the musical rocks to this day.

“Her honest and constructive feedback has made a huge difference to the way the choir operates, both musically and otherwise.  Her voice also features on lots of the tutorial recordings which choir members use to learn their harmonies.”

Volunteering at Electric Umbrella is rewarding because everyone who supports our charity is playing a meaningful part in helping to combat social isolation, build confidence, and (importantly) having a whole lot of fun! 

And when that happens, volunteers like Jen go further. Perhaps it’s one of the reasons we were awarded the Queens Voluntary Award earlier this month. Kindness matters, that’s for sure. 

“During the first lockdown Jen hand-knitted yellow hearts for each member of the choir to keep people feeling in touch with each other, and hand-delivered them all around Hertfordshire,” Claire Boulter, our Big Yellow Choir Leader tells us. 

“And whether it’s collecting donated instruments all over the home counties, helping to process them in our Emporium, painting pianos (yellow, of course), making branded cushions for our studio, setting up PAs and projectors - or even carting chairs backwards and forwards millions of times, Jen represents everything that makes Electric Umbrella so special.”

For Jen she loves life in yellow. She told us, "I love volunteering with the Big Yellow Choir - every week something magical happens". 

And so with Wednesday’s (29 June) performance quickly approaching, Steve hopes that a packed out audience will give an extra special cheer for our amazing volunteers, because they really do power the magic. 

He added: “Jen will be on stage with the rest of the choir, and I don’t think I am guilty of overstating that these moments just couldn’t happen without people like her.”

Come along and join the fun at St Saviours Catholic Church, Abbots Langley, on Wednesday 29 June for a night which we promise will be SPECTACULAR! 

We're on stage between 7.30-8.30pm, entry is £8 and under 12s go free! Get your tickets here.