Essex Police Choir to Disband After 35 Years

A police community choir has declared its intention to disband after 35 years of performing for audiences. The Essex Police Choir indicated it had faced challenges in recruiting new members since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and its long-serving musical director is scheduled to retire. The group plans to stage its final performance next month, which will be Norman Eastbrook MBE’s 362nd concert. Choir chairman Tony Willson commented: “This is a very sad time for us, but equally one of celebration. For 35 years we have had great fun ourselves, whilst being able to raise money for good causes, but we just cannot get enough singers that want to sing for us anymore.” Over the last 10 years, the choir reported that its membership had decreased from more than 70 to approximately 30, with additional departures expected by the end of this year. Mr. Eastbrook helped establish the group in 1989, and since then, the choir stated it had raised over £300,000 for charities. It estimated that it had “probably” assisted in placing more disabled toilets into churches than any other organisation in Essex. Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: “It is such a shame that we will be losing our choir, but we have to recognise that membership of voluntary organisations has seen a downturn in recent years and the choir has to have a balance in order to produce a good performance.” Its final Christmas concert is scheduled to take place on 14 December at St Luke’s Church in Tiptree.