Category: Choir Updates

Yes we are rehearsing again Covid securely tonight. Tenors left front and basses right front. Sops behind bases and altos behind tenors. Tenors turn for swab down after.

Hello all, Lovely sound last week – and lovely to see so many of the team at a distance. Tonight we will look at some of what we have done already under masked conditions and also Ellan Vannin. So if you didn’t print a copy of that already please go to the music and media tab of the website, click on repertoire outline, scrοll down and click on the blue highlight name Ellan Vannin. You will also find learning tracks there (thanks Chris).

Sending best wishes to everyone. Lesley

Hi everyone, just to confirm the revised arts guidelines still allow us to rehearse on Tuesdays within the constraints and protections we have in place. Therefore we have decided for the time being to keep choir open for those who want to come. The key requirements of the guidelines are that i. We are an organised activity, ii. We are using a ‘Covid secure space’, iii. We will ensure no mingling; iv. We collect data for Test and Trace. As you will know from previous communications from us, we have put all of this in place but I have to remind you that all of us in attendance must be vigilant to make sure we keep to the rules. We understand there will be people who feel unable to join us for the time being eg. on the basis of personal or family risk profile and it is obviously up to you to assess your own situation. Your position on that might change as the current Covid levels vary and people are always welcome to come along or suspend attendance. However, to ensure an adequate core team we will be putting in place WhatsApp groups for each section so we can track attendance in advance. We will collect names for this on Tuesday. If you cannot make Tuesday but want to be included, please contact Lesley or Chris.

Attendees please refresh yourselves on the Covid risk assessment on the website and the detail in Chris’s post entitled 8th September on practicalities. Same pieces for rehearsal too! If anyone has concerns about any of this please address them to Chris or me. The committee has done a lot of work on ensuring that we are following the rules as they evolve and have the appropriate protocols in place.

Best wishes, Lesley

You may be wondering why you got a notice about the cancellation of rehearsal some while after the rehearsal was due to start.

Sorry for this, and particular apologies to those who went to church unaware of the cancellation.

WordPress, the system behind our website, chose Tuesday evening at around 6pm as a good time to go haywire. So when, at the last minute, we concluded that we didn’t have enough singers in all parts to make rehearsing worthwhile, we struggled to get the post up on the site. When it was finally posted, we discovered that the email system sending out the alerts was also kaput.

So you will probably be finding this apology in your inbox right next to the announcement of the cancellation.

Hoping that you understand and know that we did our best to minimise inconvenience.

We will be digging into the new rules in the next couple of days and will be back with conclusions as soon as we have them.

Sadly we do not have a quorum on some parts, so tonight’s rehearsal is cancelled.

We keep our fingers crossed that we may be able to meet again soon. We will, of course, keep you informed.

Well, it has been a hectic few days but the good news is – WE ARE BACK ON FOR NEXT WEEK!

I am happy to say that the choir member who has been diagnosed with Covid-19 is as well as can be expected.

We have taken the opportunity to amend our risk assessment in light of the ‘Rule of Six’ and the importance of this has also been underlined by our hosts, ChristChurch:

NO MINGLING. It is important that, even with masks on, we do not form clumps of chatting members before we start, nor do we congregate outside the church doors afterwards.

You can review the full Risk Assessment on the website, accessible here in the blue link and also from the main menu. Please be familiar with its expectations as well as our joint and individual responsibility for hygiene measures and the current general requirements for social distancing.

So, we hope to see everyone again on Tuesday ready for 7.45 start. If you are still unable to join us, we send you our best wishes and look forward to seeing you soon.

Music – the same four pieces as last week so nothing new to print off. Reminder that they were:
Shenandoah
Danny Boy
Linden Lea and
Swansea Town

Any questions or concerns, please drop us a line.

Lesley and Chris

Hello everyone, we are sorry to inform you that we have decided to cancel this evening’s session. One of our members has let us know that they have tested positive for coronavirus. Please be assured that if you were at last week’s rehearsal our Covid security measures mean you should not consider yourself at risk by reason of your attendance. We have cancelled because we know that some members will have been in contact with the affected person outside our Covid-secure space and, given the circumstances of this case, we consider it prudent to wait until NHS Test and Trace process has been effected so that it is clear before we meet again who will be required to self-isolate. Those who might be affected have been contacted by one of us today. If you have not been contacted, you are unaffected and should not be impacted by the Test and Trace process. However, this reminds us how important it is to ensure we all follow these measures absolutely. We wish the affected person a speedy recovery .

If you have any queries please contact me or Siobhan direct. Best wishes, Lesley

Hi all, the new Covid guidance on socialisation does not affect us continuing to meet in a Covid secure space. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow- please bring the same four pieces as last time: Shenandoah
Swansea Town, Linden Lea, Danny Boy. We made a good start in the strange environment last week so let’s build on the excellent work we did over the summer! If you need reminding of our Covid rules please read last weeks’s post. It is vital that we stick to these at all times. This week is sopranos turn for wipe down etc – we don’t need you all but please be prepared. Best wishes, Lesley

Welcome back!

I hope you are all excited to get back together again tomorrow at 7.45 as usual. And for those for whom it is not yet possible, you are with us in spirit and we look forward to singing with you again very soon.

This will be a bit of a long message. Sorry, but there is quite a lot to cover for obvious reasons. Please take the time to read through.

First, music! Dave is looking to cover the following pieces this week:
Shenandoah
Swansea Town
Linden Lea
Danny Boy
Those who were able to be a part of the group over the summer will be reasonably familiar with three of these. We didn’t get to Swansea Town, but there are practice tracks available. Please make sure you print off copies of each of these.

THIS IS VITAL AS, UNDER COVID RULES, YOU CANNOT SHARE MUSIC! So if you don’t have a copy, you will be singing from memory!

Music can be found here: https://sheengatechoir.co.uk/downloads/repertoire-outline-for-autumn-2020-concert/ – click on the name of the piece for the download. Practice tracks are in the same place.

Next, to be allowed to use the church, we must follow Christ Church’s protocols, which are tighter than you may be used to. Here is the Covid-related stuff you need to know.

Masks are to be warn at all times by everyone, with no exemptions, when inside the church.

Entry is only through the normal (southern) door on West Temple Sheen. Exit is only through the other (northern) door on West Temple Sheen.

Seating is in marked locations, three to a large pew, two to a smaller pew. Large pews with one at each end and one in the middle; small pews one at each end. Alternate pews are left empty.

Toilets are open but to be used only in an emergency, as they will require thorough sanitisation if we use them.

Touch as little possible, including each other. Helpful cooperation such as putting the piano out or finding a music stand is, sadly, to be set aside for now.

When you arrive, take your seat in the pew you are directed to and relax. Once you are seated in your spot, you won’t be able to move (well you can, of course, but it will be a pain) so if you must be next to (2m apart from) your best buddy, arrive with them or bring a cardboard cutout of them to save their spot.

At the end of rehearsal, if you are not part of the clean up rota, please exit (through the correct door) promptly so that cleaning can begin.

Nobody is permitted in the chancel (ie we all remain in the main body of the church, off the stage at all times)

Your name and telephone number must be provided for track and trace purposes. (We will let you know how to do this.)

Clean up and sanitisation will be by a rota – you will know when it is your turn. It won’t take very long and you will have the benefit of being able to ask a friend to have your drink ordered and waiting for you when you get to the Plough.

We have produced a risk assessment document, which has been provided to Christ Church. If anyone would like to see it, please ask.

There is also a cleaning/sanitising document, but you will have instruction on this when it is your turn so you should not need to print it off.

And finally… In the past, we have celebrated the start of a new singing year with a glass of something while we all arrive. We cannot do this tomorrow, as even Chateau Lafitte doesn’t taste very good when drunk through an N99 mask. So we will do our social reconnection at the Plough afterwards.

That’s it. Thank you for reading all the way through, and

SEE MANY OF YOU TOMORROW!

Dear All

You may have seen the good news is that the restriction on choirs singing together is being lifted and we can start to sing together again starting Tuesday 8th September. Dave is on board and excited to hear our sound once more.

There are, of course, some constraints to ensure that we all stay safe and we need to comply with Christ Church requirements for its “Covid secure space”. We have done the risk assessment for our Covid protocols and we will need volunteers to help with the additional setting up requirements and post rehearsal cleaning. We propose a rota per section and will go through what is required at the first rehearsal and share the risk assessment with you all. If anyone wants to see it before then let me know and I will email it to you. The key points are that as well as cleaning, for the time being we will have to wear masks while singing, be sure to remain 2m apart and not share paper copies of music.

We understand entirely that some of us may not feel comfortable to join in yet and we look forward to seeing you back whenever you are ready. Given the continuing uncertainty situation, we have decided to waive fees for the coming term and will be covering our costs from the choir’s rainy day fund. If this isn’t a rainy day, then what is?

So for now, nothing more to do than mark Tuesday September 8th in your calendars as our first rehearsal back and be ready to bring your rehearsal copies with you as well as your mask and sanitiser.

If you would like to read the research on which the government guidance regarding singing is based it is currently available on a web platform called ChemRxiv. With any luck you can find it by following this link: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/pstorage-chemrxiv-899408398289/24339416/PerformSingersSubmittedVersion.pdf

Lesley

Lesley.morley1@gmail.com

Chris.hawkins2015@yahoo.com