It is no secret that there are three things that are very difficult to do right now:
- Meet in large groups
- Meet indoors
- Sing
Trying to do all three of them is known as a choir rehearsal, and is a definite no-no at this time! However, that is not stopping Cadenza. When life gives you lemons, you invest money in a mixing desk, good quality webcam, several microphones (wired and wireless), foldback speakers, lots of time, and a licensed web conferencing account that allows you to meet for more than 40 minutes at a time. Or, to put it another way, creative people get creative.
And so, the Cadenza Zoom rehearsals are born! Maybe ‘rehearsal’ is a little bit of a misnomer: truth be told, there is no perfect system that allows multiple people in different places to be perfectly in-sync on a video call. In these strangest of times we’ve all gotten used to video calls using some platform or other, and we can all see the frustration that occurs when two people try and talk at the same time. Multiply that by 50 more people, and you can quickly see how much of a challenge that is. However, we call all hear the Musical Director, and we all sing along with our part in the comfort of our own homes. It gives us a way to keep our eye in, or indeed our ears and our mouths, and get familiar with repertoire as we look every hopefully forward to a time when we will be able to get back together and perform them for you.
In the meantime, the musical aspect of the ‘rehearsal’ is only part of the experience. We had our first test call tonight to make sure everything was working, and it turns out that we did all miss each other. While obviously not the same as being there in person, just seeing all the people you were previously used to seeing week-in, week-out was a wonderful experience. We are making a point of having a facility to catch up socially at the end of the virtual rehearsals as well – perhaps even with a small glass of something you fancy – so that we keep harmony with both the friendship as well as the music.
So, while we cannot know yet when we will be able to perform for you next, rest assured we will be ready to go when that is possible. Our virtual rehearsals start in earnest on Wednesday 30 September. It’s great to be back!