Vee Smith is no stranger to performing on stage as she’s been a member of local amateur theatre group, Rickmansworth Players for the past ten years. However, singing and performing did not come naturally, as Vee was painfully shy as a child.

She says: “I really admire people who can just get up there and seem so totally at ease on stage. I think deep down it was something I really wanted to be able to do” she explains.

“I joined the South Oxhey Community Choir because I enjoy singing with Rickmansworth Players so it seemed a great idea to join in a local project. The unexpected benefit I got out of being a member of The South Oxhey Community Choir was making new friends and now I am always bumping into various choir members and having a chat whenever I go to the precinct.

“At first I found it frustratingly slow. Most people didn’t have a clue about reading music and Gareth would tell us all to sing in a particular way, like shorten the length of the note, several times before people got it, and I wondered if I really wanted to be part of it as I hadn’t made any friends because when we rehearsed, we sang and there was no time to chat.

“The Watford Colosseum concert was a turning point for me. After our performance, we got a standing ovation and I really felt proud to be part of the choir. We had improved so much and were sounding quite amazing. Also, all the waiting around before the performance gave us an opportunity to chat and get to know other choir members.

The Agnus Dei piece we did for St Albans was really tricky even for me and I know most people found it incredibly difficult and were ready to give up. We were having extra rehearsals around peoples houses and at the All Saints Centre, which were led either by Gareth or other choir members who knew music. That all seemed to help us get to know one another a lot better and we were working together as a team helping one another out with the difficult bits. Unbelievably, we managed to pull it off and we sounded great.

After that, I took a five-week break as I was rehearsing for Rickmansworth Players production of A Bedroom Farce and when I came back, the choir was rehearsing for the final act, The South Oxhey Festival. That was when I noticed how much the choir had improved. When Gareth told us to sing in a particular way, we all did it first time!

Now I am rehearsing for Rickmansworth Players' production of Sweet Charity, which we are performing at Watersmeet, in November. Although I’ve got couple of small parts and I’m in the chorus, I’m hoping it won’t interfere with my involvement with the Choir for the Christmas concert planned for December.

Vee Smith