Thank you for joining me so early into this new venture and I’m am truly grateful that you are here at the very beginning of my journey as The Creative Choir Leader.
Over the coming weeks, it will be great to get to know who is in our choir community and what strengths we can all bring to help each other.
Here is just a little bit about me and where things are for me right now with my choirs…..
I’ve set up The Creative Choir Leader and The Creative Choir Leader Group because I love: choir, talking about choir, coming up with ideas for choir, problem solving for choir, new music for choir….basically anything to do with choir I love chatting about! Call me a choir geek! JOIN the group HERE
I’m sharing this photo so that you can see me in one of my funnier moments, whilst recently being online with my choir, The Great Day Choir at the beginning of lockdown – just after a singalong to “Singing in the Rain” – complete with a cup of water for sprinkles of rain and our umbrellas – and when my over enthusiastic twirling of the umbrella got my hair all caught up by mistake. My choir couldn’t stop laughing at me! Highlight of their day apparently.
This has basically been the analogy of my ‘going online with my choir’ experience: trying new ideas with my choirs – some working, some not and others just down right funny!
I went online really quickly. That is – we stopped rehearsing in a venue one day, and the very next day I was trying out zoom with another choir Bristol Military Wives Choir
WHY did I do this?
I needed to. Just this. I needed to for my choir communities which I had worked really hard for 5 years to build up and develop. I needed to so that my members had something they knew to hold onto each week, whilst the world was changing around them. I needed to so that I would still have a job. I needed to because I love choir.
Did I grieve? YOU BET, for about 2 weeks. Together with worrying about my kids not going to school and the health of my family. I longed to hear my singer’s voices (and still do). I longed for my choir routines which has become slick. I longed for a simple session with little technology. I longed to see real people and hear them in real time – TOGETHER.
But….over time….something special is happening in my choirs that I really didn’t expect. As a result of some of the approaches and steps I have taken with them, many trial and error, they are forming new relationships and engaging with each other in new ways. They are creating new communities. We are learning new songs and not just singing along to ones we already knew. It’s a new shared history. This is what I want to share.
I am now starting to plan for the medium term future. It’s still an online future for the moment. But I am still looking for music and planning new ventures for them – it’s something I do which helps me to feel optimistic because I love choosing new music and then teaching it to my choirs and seeing how they grow to love it too.
Thank you again for joining this community on the very first weeks. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all more!
Beth Morgan – founder The Creative Choir Leader