Whether you have the voice of Aretha Franklin or only sing to yourself in the shower, Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough wants you to belt it out alongside the rest of the community.
“The beautiful part about group singing, especially with all these different ages, different levels of ability, and different approaches to music, is that we can always make it work,” says organizer Anna Eidt. “We can all come together and carry each other.”
Described by Eidt as “a space for everyone intentionally infused with a high dose of queer, sparkly joy,” Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough is a volunteer-run initiative that invites community members to gather for one-off group choir events to sing favourite pop and musical theatre songs.
“I was raised in a very traditional Western choral scene, and I was feeling like that wasn’t quite the thing that I needed right now,” said Eidt, who put the first call-out to find interested volunteers to launch the initiative.
“I was hearing from other people as well that they really wanted to sing, but that they didn’t necessarily have the time or the energy or the desire to do a weekly rehearsal. They wanted to do things that were fun, relieving stress, and helping them have a sense of community.”
Eidt notes that Big Sing has not reinvented the wheel, but rather takes inspiration from other group choirs.
“Choir! Choir! Choir! for instance was a major inspiration because they get together and learn one song and have fun and belt it out,” says Eidt. “There are groups doing this all over the world now. This more informal choral or focus on pop music and musical theatre is a thing that is happening. I thought that would work for me and a lot of people around here who are feeling like they need that opportunity to sing, but that the traditional format is not quite right at this time.”
When Anishnaabe Kwe musician and educator Mshkiki Gitigaan received Eidt’s call out, she was excited for the opportunity to meet new people and come together in song in a “low-pressure environment.”
“There’s some power in our voices coming together,” Gitigaan says. “There’s a part of us that we don’t really touch very often. Having our voices come together really touches that biofield and triggers some healing in our bodies. It manifests physically to relieve that weight we’ve been carrying on our shoulders — spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.”
Eidt agrees, explaining some of the benefits of collective singing.
“Studies have shown that when people sing together regularly, their immunity improves, their sense of identity is stronger, their sense of belonging is stronger, their heart health improves. There’s a reason that every culture in human history has had these opportunities to come together and sing and include everyone in the community: because it’s absolutely essential to our wellbeing.”
According to Eidt, Big Sing will “bridge the gap” between people who read music and those who learn best by listening. Community members who show up at an event will be given a lyric sheet that is colour-coded to divide singing parts. There is a lot of repetition involved so participants can become familiar with the music.
“If you show up and you don’t know the song or you don’t know how to read music, you’ve got the lyrics in front of you, you’re probably surrounded by a couple of powerhouses, and so you can really just go with the flow and jump in as you feel able,” says Eidt.
Last summer, Big Sing hosted two events at the Jalynn Bennett Amphitheatre at Trent University’s Traill College. Upwards of 60 people, inclusive of kids, teenagers, and adults, showed up to sing Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” at the first event and Queen’s “Under Pressure” at the second.
AUDIO: “Defying Gravity” (from original “Wicked” 2003 Broadway production)
Gitigaan has also brought her drum out to lead the singers in a traditional water song, which a lot of participants had already been familiar with.
“That’s a lot more of just listening by ear and following along until you get it and then belting it out,” says Gitigaan of the water song and drum. “Including that heartbeat of Mother Earth is really important to me. I make sure that there’s some shakers available so folks can also join in on that sound. It’s really easy going and folks can take away some of that medicine with them and just incorporate other ways of seeing the world and other ways of singing together.”
Big Sing is hosting its next event on Friday, March 6 during Peterborough’s First Friday Art Crawl to sing “Defying Gravity” from the 2003 stage musical Wicked, made famous by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s Grammy award-winning performance of the song in the 2024 film version.
Though it might seem a challenging song, the youth choir from the Peterborough Children’s Chorus will also be there to offer support.
“There’s some pretty fantastic and relevant message in that song and in that musical that I think are relevant to our core values, and it has stood the test of time,” says Eidt. “It’s having a moment right now, which helps our cause, but some of us have been singing this song since we were kids.”
Whether you’ve been singing “Defying Gravity” all your life or have never heard the song before, there’s a place for you at Big Sing.
“Just show up as best as you can be and fake it ’til you make it,” encourages Gitigaan. “Even if you’ve never even heard the song, just pretend like you do because we repeat and repeat. We’re not together for a very long time, but by the end of it, we all sound amazing — even folks who’ve never done this type of thing before. It’s a really magical experience.”
To make a donation to Big Sing or to ask questions about accessibility, email Eidt at annaeidt@gmail.com. You can also keep up to date with Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough @bigsingnogojiwanong on Instagram.
Big Sing Nogojiwanong-Peterborough received a grant from the United Way Peterborough & District’s 2025 Neighbourhood Fund, which supports grassroots community-led initiatives that foster connection, inclusion, and belonging.
