Category Archives: choirs

Lockdown encore une fois

Posted on January 23, 2021 by vhk10

So this month everything went online again. No physical rehearsals and indeed after some debate we have stopped our church services as well. But I still spend several evenings a week in choral activities. Gloucester Choral Society has now dipped … Continue reading →

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keeping with the clicks

Posted on November 14, 2020 by vhk10

We have moved our carol competition online, which means recording our own contributions and sending them in to be edited. For this one we have no video of a conductor to guide us, just an audio track. Or rather tracks, … Continue reading →

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choirs go away again

Posted on November 8, 2020 by vhk10

Just getting into a routine with various choirs when there is a second lockdown and they all go away again. I managed to fit in a second visit to Gloucester just in time, in the process becoming aware of some … Continue reading →

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Choir returns: (3) Gloucester

Posted on October 26, 2020 by vhk10

The last to return of the three choirs I sing with that are currently functioning was Gloucester Choral Society. It looks as if auditioning for this choir was one of my best decisions of 2020 (not, admittedly, a year in … Continue reading →

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how to return

Posted on October 20, 2020 by vhk10

Before I post an account of my third return to choral singing, I’m going to reflect on some of the difficulties that have had to be faced and the questions to be answered. Firstly is there a place where rehearsals … Continue reading →

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Choir returns (2): Bristol

Posted on September 28, 2020 by vhk10

Bristol Choral Society has in one sense had less of a break than in many years. Very often we’d do nothing after the concert in June until the AGM at the beginning of September, but this year we carried on … Continue reading →

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tentative returns

Posted on August 28, 2020 by vhk10

September approaches and with it the normal start of the choral season. Three choirs I sing in have indicated that they are making moves to resume rehearsing around the middle of the month. In each case, it’s not clear yet … Continue reading →

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when does a performance become professional?

Posted on July 16, 2020 by vhk10

Gradually the lockdown is thawing, churches are opening and organs being played. The jury is still out on the dangers of singing but outdoor performances by professionals are permitted in certain circumstances. Possibly similar criteria will be applied in due … Continue reading →

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a letter to my MP

Posted on July 4, 2020 by vhk10

[The following is the text of a letter to my MP, Wera Hobhouse. It is mostly my own words, though I have used some wording that was suggested to me by a choir I sing in. I have lightly edited … Continue reading →

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a place for visiting choirs?

Posted on June 26, 2020 by vhk10

All choral singers must be wondering just what will be left when their choirs are allowed to perform again. One sector I am reasonably sanguine about is that of the Cathedral visiting choir. These choirs are essentially self-funding. Of the … Continue reading →

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