Spotlight on... Singing In...
This month we caught up with new Classical Sheffield members - Singing In... - to see what they have been up to in the last year, how you can join in with their activities and why they've decided to join the Classical Sheffield membership!
1) Can you describe what Singing In... does in a couple of sentences?
At Singing In… we love bringing people together to sing and make music. In our Bamford, Oughtibridge and Stocksbridge choirs the community feel is so important, sometimes even more so than the singing! It’s about making friends, having fun and feeling like you’re part of something bigger.
2) How have you adapted your rehearsals/performances during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The rehearsals for all three choirs moved online when we first went into lockdown. Who would have imagined we’d still be going a year later! Singing on Zoom is not the same as singing all together of course, but it’s the best we’ve got right now. It can be so frustrating not being able to hear our lovely singers, but we’re so lucky that the technology allows us to keep everyone connected. We’ve loved working on projects together such as the virtual performance we prepared for the Roundabout Charity Christmas Concert.
3) How long has Singing In... been up and running for?
The concept for the choirs grew out of the Singing In… the Lakes weekends that Kate previously organised with her Dad. The idea was about pulling together a disparate group of singers with a range of musical abilities and placing them in some beautiful surroundings (with plenty of homemade cake!) to create some magical results. After Kate moved over from Manchester to her new community, the Oughtibridge choir began in January 2019 and was quickly followed by new choirs in Stocksbridge and Bamford.
4) Do you have a favourite piece of music you can't wait to perform again?
This might be a surprising one, but we both love Neil Sedaka’s “Laughter in the Rain”, Kate used to sing it in youth choir when she was younger. We started learning it in the choir sessions before lockdown, and did quite a lot more work on it in our weekly Zoom rehearsals, but we’ve not yet heard the final results. We can’t wait to hear it sung by a real choir again when we can all get together.
5) Are you looking for new members? If so, what is the best way to get in touch with Singing In...?
Our choirs are open to anyone that wants to sing. There aren’t any auditions, ever! And people can join our current Zoom sessions straight away if they like. There’s more information about the choirs on our website or you can contact us on social media.
6) What attracted you to join the Classical Sheffield membership?
Kate’s been doing some administration work for Classical Sheffield for a while, so we’ve seen the great work that the organisation is doing to promote music makers in Sheffield. We’re big believers in working with others to be part of something much bigger, and collaboration at this time is more important than ever. Music makers are vital to the cultural life of our city, and we’re keen to champion community choirs for everything that they have to offer.
