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Cantando Female Voice Community Choir has been hitting the right note during the lockdown, raising money for an important cause and continuing to sing safely.
The brainchild of founder Becs Robertson, the choir boasts 42 members and they have managed to keep singing despite the restrictions.
Becs explained they have utilised the latest technology to capture their voices singing a variety of tunes – and they have raised a whopping £3,920 so far for the Aurora New Dawn charity.
“When the lockdown came, we were all determined to keep the choir going. We are a large group, and there is a real feeling of sisterhood between us.
“We’ve used Facebook Live on a closed group to keep going. It has been a learning curve but once we got used to it, that was when we thought we would take things a bit further and record our singing to support a good cause,” said Becs.
‘Something Inside So Strong’ was the first song they recorded and Becs admitted it put her technical abilities to the test.
Each choir member recorded themselves singing and Becs mixed each of the 42 voices to create the final track.
“Aurora New Dawn charity kept popping up on my Facebook feed and when I put it to the choir, they agreed it was a good cause for us to support,” added Becs.
Becs friend and choir member Clara Flethem was then able to take the activity to a new level by using video recordings of the individual signers to create a polished final film with each track.
Shonagh Dillon, CEO of Aurora New Dawn, said: “We are so touched by the efforts of the choir and in particular Becs. We feel like they have walked alongside us for the whole of lockdown and they just kept going, releasing songs week after week. The fact they didn’t falter is a testament to their commitment to raise funds for survivors. The money they have raised will go towards the retention of our helpline which we are continuing post lockdown for the foreseeable. The choir has done amazingly well by raising so much money and so much awareness. They have energised us at Aurora and we will be forever grateful to them.”
“It has been a strange experience but singing with the choir has helped us to come through this – we will be doing a virtual gig at the Jolly Sailor on August 29 and we hope to ultimately raise £5,000 for Aurora New Dawn,” added Becs.
You can find Cantando Female Voice Community Choir on Facebook Cantando Female Voice Community Choir
Written by Kate Thompson
Posted in: Art & Culture, Articles, Local & Community
