SHREWSBURY CANTATA CHOIR
What Cantata did in Covid Year 2020
Shrewsbury Cantata Choir – lockdown and beyond, 2020
We have been singing! See our timeline below:
Against all the odds, Shrewsbury Cantata Choir has kept going since the first lockdown in March 2020. We have made music together, supported each other and had some much needed fun.
This has been a joint effort by the Committee, many choir members, our MD, Tony Coupe, our accompanist, Catrina Lapage, our stand-in conductor, Gill Berry, our garden group hosts, and of course our family and friends cheering us on.
We have had Zoom meetings, Zoom socials and many garden rehearsals. New groups have sprung up; choir walking groups, garden coffee groups. In some ways we have got to know each other better because of Covid.
Special thanks must go to the following choir members:
Our Chair, Joe Gomme, for keeping the choir on a steady course, studying government guidelines in great detail, drawing up risk assessments and making sure we were safe, socially distanced and able to sing together; also for hosting all our Zoom meetings.
Our Secretary, Judy Vaughan, for her tireless work in making all the arrangements to get us singing again, for the countless emails and phone calls, in particular for setting up the garden groups; also for arranging the venues for our performance of the Charpentier Messe de Minuit and subsequently to rehearse the carols.
Cantata’s Timeline from March 2020 onwards:
16 March
Lockdown in the UK began unofficially on 16 March 2020, when Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that all unnecessary social contact should cease. Cantata’s Mozart concert at St Chad’s was scheduled for 21 March and we cancelled.
Indeed, all Choir activities came to an abrupt halt.
Cantata Committee very soon started email discussions on possible ways forward.
24 March
Britain went into full lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
28 April
Cantata Chairman Joe Gomme hosted the first Zoom Cantata Committee meeting to discuss options.
6 May
Joe held a Zoom meeting for some Committee “guinea pigs” to test whether it would be possible to sing as a choir on Zoom; the results weren’t promising.
13 May
We held our first choir Zoom social meeting for all choir members.
10 June
We enjoyed another Zoom social meeting .
24 June
We held a Zoom Committee meeting and a social meeting for all the choir.
1 July
Cantata MD Tony Coupe gave a Zoom Power Point presentation on Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël, our chosen piece for practice over the summer
During this period, Joe and the Committee endlessly discussed and weighed up the risks of choir members meeting in groups of any size, and kept up with the latest government guidelines at all times.
July
Garden group rehearsals started, hosted by members of the choir: six singers in each group, dates and times varied to suit the hosts and singers
29 August
Big Garden Rehearsals.
We are allowed to hold outdoor meeting of up to 30 people.
The first big garden rehearsal took place at Fran’s in Church Preen, with Tony Coupe conducting and Catrina accompanying.
6 and 20 September
Two more big garden rehearsals took place at Dick’s in Newton on the Hill, again under Tony's direction and accompanied by Catrina.
It often rained during these outdoor rehearsals. We became adept at putting up umbrellas without missing a beat, literally.
14 and 17 October
Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël
St Mary's Church. Dogpole. Shrewsbury.
Rehearsal and performance at the invitation of St Mary’s, with an audience of one person. It was conducted by Gill Berry, accompanied by Catrina Lapage and recorded by Colin;
Our MD Tony Coupe was unable to be with us due to illness.
21 ands 28 October
Following strictly the required protocol (re Covid) we held the first and second rehearsals of Christmas carols in Holy Trinity Church, Meole Brace, with Gill Berry conducting
5 November
The UK's second lockdown started and rehearsals again came to a halt.
18 November
We held a Zoom choir social, followed by a Committee meeting to discuss plans and dates for next year. Once more, we asked Tony to choose suitable music to learn at home until we can sing together again.
Tony suggests for our consideration:
“Victoria’s Tenebrae Responsories might work well - this is for SATB a Capella and consists of 18 motets in various combinations - a good level of challenge while always maintaining a sense of melodic line in each part. Part of the golden age of polyphony, these are beautiful pieces of music which create a halo of sound and a spirit of reflection.”
Virtual Singing
Virtual Singing.
During Covid year 2020, Ian Ward (Founder MD of Cantata) along with his brother, Jeff Ward, inaugurated the virtual choir Musique Sans Frontières, Music Without Borders.
Follow the links here to be wowed by these performances and by Jeff's fantastic compilations. Members of the choir and the accompanying orchestra come from many parts of the world. Several members of Shrewsbury Cantata choir took part.
