First-time participants to Make Music Day and contemporary gospel group based in Preston, One Voice Community Choir, reminisce on their contribution to this year’s festivities
Tell us a bit about your group and what kind of music you play or sing.
One Voice Community Choir is a contemporary gospel choir that began in 1999 as a small community art project in Preston led by Tyndale Thomas MBE, becoming a registered charity in 2008. The choir has taken on several challenging assignments while remaining grounded in community spirit. We take great pride in bringing the same energy and joy to our audiences whether we're performing in an arena, a church, a railway station, a festival, or a village green.
What does Make Music Day mean to your group and community?
Make Music Day provided a great opportunity to participate in a global celebration of music. It was exciting to share this incredible experience with our new members and to see such a wide breadth of music shared globally. It felt like we were part of an international concert.
How did your group celebrate Make Music Day? What kind of musical activity did you do?
We celebrated Make Music Day for the first time this year and performed two songs, 'Freedom' and 'Follow Your Dreams,' which were recorded to share on social media. With technical support from Lawrence Stewart, we were able to use professional recording equipment to enhance the musical experience for our audience. Check out the full recording of our renditions of Freedom and Follow Your Dreams.
What steps did you take to prepare for this day, and who was involved?
We held several rehearsals over a few weeks prior to the recording session so that our new members could get a good feel of the songs. Tyndale Thomas MBE, our musical director, led us on the day with assistance from Lawrence Stewart who provided technical support for the sound mixing experience.
Members of the group rehearsing for Make Music Day.
What were the day's highlights?
The experience of professional recording was a big highlight of the day for our group because it isn't something we do very often, and it was a great learning experience for us as well as our new members. It was also wonderful to see all the posts shared on social media under the hashtag #MakeMusicDay and to interact with other incredible performances from the day!
What did you learn from this year’s event? Did participating in Make Music Day have an impact on your group?
Professionally recording our music was no easy task: the microphone picks up on everything, and the best moments rarely happen in one take! But it was a fantastic experience, especially for our newer members who had never done any kind of recording before. That day was all about making music, and we certainly provided an exciting experience for our members, we hope that the viewers of our videos also found it enjoyable!
Have you come across any inspiring stories about others who were celebrating Make Music Day in your community?
Sadly, there did not seem to be many local groups participating in Make Music Day, but we plan to get involved again in the future and hope to raise awareness within our community.
It was exciting to share such an incredible experience with our new members and those watching on social media and to see all the other groups and musicians sharing their music that day. It felt like we were part of an international concert.
Did participating in Make Music Day have an impact on your group, especially post Covid?
Unfortunately, some of our choir members did not return after Covid, and it took some time for others to return. There was a noticeable change from our pre-Covid rehearsals. Participating in the celebration of Make Music Day was a real turning point for us, new members started filtering in and there was a buzz of excitement in the air. Make Music Day was an unmissable opportunity to connect with others and to feel part of a huge network of music makers across the globe. It was also wonderful to work on a project with our newer members; we can now look back on this day with pride and fondness. The choir is beginning to feel more like itself again. Oh happy day!
Will you take part next year and if so, what do you think you might do?
Definitely! Our aim for next year is to get our community involved, we hope to achieve this by organising a Make Music Day workshop of some kind or a concert. We have also thought about opening our doors to the local community; inviting people to our rehearsals and perhaps Livestream our performance through our various social media platforms so that others can enjoy the experience first-hand. The choir is brimming with ideas, so we will start planning earlier for next year which will hopefully culminate in an experience where everyone can get involved in making music. It would be great to get other local choirs to participate in the day and share the experience as a community, so we plan to approach them for next year’s festivities.
What advice would you give anyone thinking about taking part in Make Music Day with their group?
Plan, be creative, and have fun making music!
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