David answers some questions about The Igloo Choir

We were recently contacted by Ivan Prothero from The Portsmouth News about our Igloo Choir song Call The Changes. He asked the members some questions, are here is David’s reply.

      How difficult has the pandemic made the practice & recording?

The pandemic has forced us to learn a new set of skills, Zoom and Virtual Background.  Record our parts individually and submit them to Dielle by email.  However, I miss terribly not being able to stand and sing within the body of the choir, as the harmonies of a song ring out

      How pleased are you with the final version?

It was very rewarding to be part of creating a YouTube performance of the new song under Covid-19 restrictions.  So, I’m very pleased we did it and had great fun in doing so.

      How important was learning and trying to ring the bells to the song?

It was a great experience to be allowed to go into the church tower and meet the bell ringers.  We also got an insight as to the complexities of ringing the changes and saw the bell ringers working as a team.

      Has this project helped people through the lockdown?

The project kept my focus on singing and making music with friends in the Igloo Choir.

      What else does this group do and how often do you get together/practice?

Igloo Choir has performed for a number of years at a ChoirFest Event held annually at the Alexandra Theatre Bognor Regis.

The Igloo Choir usually performs for a number charity events throughout the year, such as CLIC Sergeant, a children’s cancer charity. 

Also performing for adults living in a supported environment, where music and singing can provide great enjoyment and participation opportunities for the residents.

We also have fun dressing up for special occasions. For example, we wear Butterfly Wings for one of our songs.

      Whose idea was it to use a virtual background?

One of our choir members, Carolyn put up a virtual background on her screen during one of our early Zoom rehearsals.  Wow! That’s a good idea came the response.  We variously experimented, quickly realising that we could use photos of Wickham Church whilst singing, “Call the Changes.”  Hence, the changing backgrounds in our YouTube song.

Categorised in: Choir, Singing, Song Writing