Eastbourne’s Concentus choir looking to the future

Spokeswoman Chrissie Higgins said: “Like every other choir in the country, Concentus has been forced to halt all rehearsals and cancel its planned performances – all of which has hit the membership fairly hard since for many of them, choir activity is a key point of contact with others, and social interaction is keenly anticipated and enjoyed every week.

“Key members of the choir were identified to start a telephone call chain, with each person being given a list of other members to contact in turn, to check on their welfare and have a chat over a virtual cup of coffee.

“Each of those contacted were also given two or three other members to contact, thus starting a weekly chat round ensuring that, for those members who want to be included, their wellbeing is always being looked out for. Not only has this been very well received, it’s introduced members of the choir who otherwise don’t have a chance to chat at rehearsals.

“A number of members have since taken this one step further by taking part in virtual meetings using such applications as Zoom and Webex. It was a little manic to start with, since everybody wanted to talk at once, and it’s tricky trying to get the attention of everyone in a virtual environment if they aren’t familiar with these set-ups, but everyone seemed to enjoy it.

“The choir’s musical director Adrian White is hoping to take this concept a step further by hosting a choir warm-up and practice session using the same live video virtual application.

“If this unprecedented way of life has taught us one thing it’s that music is a key way of engaging and uplifting those in isolation, as has been proved by the likes of Gareth Malone and other celebrities all doing their thing from home yet still managing to attract large virtual audiences.”

Chrissie added: “Concentus will undoubtedly bounce back even stronger than before and the choir is always eager to hear from any potential new members.”

The new term will start again on Monday, September 7 hopefully, so if you are interested, visit http://www.concentus-sings.com or call Claire on 07920 430162.

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