As you know, there has been a lot of negative talk about the challenges facing musicians during the coronavirus pandemic. I’d like to share with you a positive tale of how a group of professional, London-based musicians have come together to support amateur choirs around the world in the run-up to Christmas.
“We know that some choirs have managed to keep activities going since march using online platforms such as ZOOM and YouTube,” says Koor founder and CEO, Simon Capet. “But many, perhaps the majority, have not gathered at all since the outbreak of the pandemic. We want to help”
Koor is a new app that was created at the beginning of March just as COVID-19 was turning the world upside down. “We created Koor with a simple goal; to make individual choir practice fun”, says Simon. With the app, choral singers can learn their parts by engaging with interactive recordings of professional singers.
At the heart of Koor is a collective of professional singers, instrumentalists and conductors. All of whom are painfully aware of how devastating COVID-19 has been on the activities of choirs everywhere.
“We thought that we could bring some light and inspiration to choral singers during this challenging time by presenting a series of FREE online courses.”
Each course is led by musicians that make up the professional performing element of Koor; hand-picked singers and instrumentalists, many of whom are soloists in their own right: A stellar group of musicians who, under normal circumstances, would be performing with groups such as The Tallis Scholars, Tenebrae, The Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, The Gabrieli Consort, The Sixteen, the Choir of the Age of Enlightenment and the BBC Singers. Between them, these artists have an immense wealth of experience and they excel in both historical and modern music.
We’re bringing this incredible knowledge and talent together in our three, exceptional online courses:
Beethoven’s Mass in C (Nov 11 to Dec 9)
As we come to the end of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year, we offer an opportunity to learn a dramatic work that deserves to be heard far more frequently.
Handel’s Messiah – (Nov 12 to Dec 10)
For many a choral singer, a Christmas without Messiah is unthinkable! In this course, we explore this perennial favourite in the context of its history and performance.
Christmas Fantasia – (Nov 16 to Dec 14)
A programme of beautiful Christmas music from the 20th & 21st Centuries with a satisfying balance of the well known and new. A cozy collection of festive music that promises to be as comforting as a mince pie and a glass of eggnog.
So how do the courses work?
Simple. Singers just head over to Koor’s youtube channel at https://youtube.com/koorvideos where all workshops are being live-streamed.
And they can get more information on how to access the sheet music for these courses by visiting https://koor.app
And between workshops, practice with professional singers.
With Koor, singers can learn their notes by engaging with interactive recordings of professional singers. They can isolate their parts or create a personal mix with the other voices.
We hope you will join us for this unique experience.
Stay safe. Stay singing!
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