‘It’s great to be back’ was the feeling amongst members of Chordiality who met for their first face-to-face rehearsal in 18 months at the start of September.
The choir had not rehearsed together under one roof since March 2020 and the pleasure of being able to meet, socialise with other members and, of course, sing was very evident.
There was virtually a full house at the first get-together and now the Sunday night rehearsals are back in full swing.
“It was everything I thought it would be and more,” said Chordiality’s Music Director Peter Sherlock. “People were happy to be there, happy to rehearse and just enjoyed singing.”
This sentiment was echoed by long-standing members Christine Fozard and Susan Brown (pictured below).
“It was just marvellous to be back together singing again,” said Christine. “The rehearsal gave us all a sense of ‘normality’ and singing in itself is something that makes you feel better. It’s like a therapy for two hours on a Sunday evening.”
“I was just looking forward to hearing that beautiful sound that we used to make,” added Susan. “I also missed the camaraderie of the choir. I think my favourite part was just seeing everybody and being together again after so long.”
During the Covid lockdown, the choir had been rehearsing, like many other singing groups, using the online communications platform, Zoom, and had also made a number of virtual recordings including two concerts, which can be now found on the choir’s YouTube site. Many of these pieces will comprise the repertoire for the first few rehearsals.
On the first night, the singers opened up with a favourite of the choir members, As Long As I Have Music by Nancy Price and Don Besig, and ended the evening, almost raising the roof, with the choral ballad Anthem from the musical Chess.