Lockdown Rehearsals

​by Kathleen Holman

​The Fourth Choir moved to Zoom rehearsals in March and postponed indefinitely our spring and summer concerts. From March through July, we’ve continued to have weekly virtual rehearsals because we took a survey and members said they wanted that. Everyone felt it was important to keep in touch with each other, so we could be supportive of each other during this difficult time. We also wanted to remain ‘vocally fit’ so that when we do get back together in person, we won’t have lost too much from not singing together.
 
Because we have continued to provide musical and social benefits to members, we have also been able to raise donations and provide income to Dominic Ellis-Peckham, our Artistic Director, who, like all professional musicians, has been financially affected by the lock down. Supporting professional musicians has always been something the choir leadership is passionate about.
 
Our Zoom rehearsals start with an extended warm up led by Dominic, with vocal and physical exercises – which people say is one of the best parts of the rehearsal.

Warm ups can get a bit physical

A visit from Annett Badland

After the warm up, we have ‘Sing Share’. During the week, members are invited to record solos in a common genre – like folk songs, oratorios, or musical theatre. This a continuation of a long-standing tradition the choir has of holding cabarets and recitals at our end-of-term parties and weekend retreats. We then play these recordings to the other members attending the Zoom rehearsal. Usually 3 to 4 people submit a solo recording each week. Sometimes it becomes a mini Masterclass, with Dominic giving vocal feedback to the singer. Some members experiment with singing multiple voice parts on the Acapella app, and the results are fantastic. This has been a wonderful way to build trust and get to know each other better as well – we’ve even been able to integrate several new members this way.

Lizzie sharing her four part a cappella recording

Dominic then leads us in a choral exercise that is suitable for Zoom. It may be a sing-through, or notes on a virtual project we are recording in lockdown, or technical instruction on a song we want to perform in the future. We might also listen to a few recordings on a familiar piece and discuss what we have heard.

Learning a new song on Zoom

We have recorded a few choral songs in lockdown and these have culminated in a video that we published for Pride. We did this because we thought it was important to keep in contact with our audiences and supporters, as well to have something for the choir members to be proud of from this time. And the weeks leading up to the premiere were a bit more pressure-filled and exciting, just like a real concert would have been. As an LGBT+ choir, we have a lot of context to draw from in our musical choices, our commissions, arrangements and content, and this is reflected in our virtual Pride celebration. You can view our Pride event here:

We haven’t set out to learn any lessons along the way – we are just keeping familiar aspects of the choir culture going in a virtual format.  We have had to accept that this is the norm for the time being. As any start date is out of our hands, we just need to make the best of this situation. However, individuals have found that making their solo recordings and working on the virtual projects challenging and rewarding in equal measure.  
 
Our virtual connections are a reflection of how precious our communal experience has become to choir members. Like all other choirs, we don’t know when and how we will be able to meet in person again. But until then, we will most likely carry on with virtual rehearsals and evolve our format, as well as make a few more recordings together.