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Vice chairman of the The Skipton Choir, Paul Rodgers, tells us about how the group has managed to make music and raise funds for a hospice during lockdown.
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice has seen income plummet as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. It relies on public donations to maintain its vital services and as a result of having to close its shops and cancel fundraising events, it now faces a potential funding gap of £12m.
Our choir has released its first virtual choir video with the aim of raising money for the hospice. We chose to support Manorlands because it provides an important service to our local community and many of our members have benefited from its support or have family and friends that have benefited. With 80 singers led by musical director David Weale, we released our version of 'When You Believe' (from the 1998 film, Prince of Egypt) on YouTube on 4 May.
We were determined to carry on since the lockdown put an end to weekly rehearsal sessions, and this video is the result of a monumental effort by many of the members. Everyone featured in the video practised and recorded their individual parts at home. They then submitted solo recordings, which musical director David digitally merged to produce a four part harmonised track.
We wanted to show our support for a charity which is close to all our hearts. At the time of publishing £3,025 has been raised for the hospice, and donations continue to flood in.
The Skipton Choir's recording of 'When You Believe'
Do you have some news you'd like to share about what your group has been doing? Then let us know! Or if your group is a member of Making Music and has a video or audio recording you'd like to share, you can submit it to our Virtual Concert Series.
