A Pandemic Pivot for Village Voices

The pandemic has not dampened the enthusiasm of our singers.  Since February 2021, our Music Director Shirley Madden has led us with singing sessions twice a month, using “Zoom” to hone our skills for when we can return to normal in-person rehearsals.

In the first session, we helped participants self-assess their skills in order to place them in the correct group. Since then, three vocal coaches have been helping our director lead four groups of singers of differing experience and comfort levels.

Pandemic Pivot 1 Zoom

What participants are saying...

“I loved last night! I’ve wanted to hone my sight singing, solfeggio skills, for years. Typically, I start and as quickly, usually stop.  I say it’s a wonderful track to put us all on and I’m truly grateful. Thanks for everyone’s hard work in getting this rolling!”

Pandemic Pivot 2 Zoom

Goals for the Singing Sessions

  • To have every participant gain confidence in their sight reading skills and see measurable improvement over the course of eight sessions
  • To learn and practice good singing technique in order to maintain and improve the function of healthy vocal muscles
  • To continue to work on ear training in order to promote good tuning
  • To have fun!!!

Have you ever experienced the joy of singing beside a really good singer? Suddenly your own voice just blossoms! It is such a great feeling! And that is the magic of singing in a choir! And now that you are singing better, the folks around you are singing better too! Taking that understanding to the next level, we know that if we can improve the skills of even one singer, we have improved the singing of a whole choir!

Update: We have now concluded these sessions and are back to practicing for our next concert!