2021 is full of unknowns for everyone!
Summer term rehearsals will initially be online, commencing Friday 16 April 2021.
In the autumn we managed a few very socially-distanced, in-person rehearsals for those who wished whilst connecting with other folk via Zoom. We hope it may be possible to venture into such hybrid territory again later in the summer term.
We use Zoom for our online rehearsals, which include a lively mix of different elements:
- tips and exercises to keep us in good – voice including an amazing, virtual session with vocal expert Ghislaine Morgan to give us all a vocal work-out and minister first aid to our online voices!
- learning new music
- revisiting favourite repertoire
- sectional rehearsals (using break out rooms and the expertise of various choir members)
- brushing up musicianship and music-reading skills – all from the privacy of our own homes!
- sharing news and information of interest
- the all-important (especially in lockdown) chat! We’ve found the break-out rooms very useful for this, too, enabling people to chat in smaller groups.
- the wonderful entertainment slot, where each week a choir member shares something with us all – this has included music, slide shows, mini-quizzes and readings of prose and poetry. It’s been a delight hearing from different people and being enchanted by their diverse talents and interests.
Most choir members have taken part in these sessions and there is always help on hand for anyone new to Zoom who would like to join in; we even have 4 members regularly joining us by phone! Sadly when we sing together everyone has to be on mute or else everything is horribly out of sync, but we do have lots of recordings to sing with as well as live accompaniment as we learn new pieces with the MD or sectional leader.
It gives you the opportunity to sing along with other parts to help your sight-reading.
The tech has provided some opportunities to look at scores close up on the screen: this can be very helpful.
We can individually adjust the sound level, to suit our needs.
It’s good to connect and keep in contact with friends
