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I don’t think there's anyone who can say they hadn’t missed something during the pandemic. From going to the pub, to days out with the family, gym classes to music lessons, it's safe to say that we all lost something that year. As a choir, the Phoenix Voices was no different. To go from the buzz of singing our Grease Medley almost perfectly, to being told that we wouldn’t be able to meet again until further notice, we had to scramble to find a way forward. Having looked at and tried several options from Skype to Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp video calls to non-video group calls, we finally settled on Zoom as the best option to keep our rehearsals going.

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Zoom was an absolute lifesaver on that front! We might not be able to hear each other singing (the delay is an absolute nightmare!), but being able to see each other on screen, catch up and interact with each other (and most importantly sing, albeit along with Kris and the piano!) made all the difference. 

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Despite a relaxation of Covid restrictions, meaning we could start live rehearsals again, many of our members felt that staying on Zoom would be a better option for them. As a result we began live rehearsals with the facility for choir members to join us on Zoom if they so wished. Although it's not the same as physically singing together, it was a stepping stone between everyone Zooming separately and everyone being back together singing again. Added to that, being able to hear the live rehearsal on Kris' Zoom window means you don't feel like you're singing alone quite so much!

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With a third National Lockdown being imposed after Christmas, we were once again relegated back to Zoom-only rehearsals for the time being. As the Roadmap Steps progressed and with restrictions being lifted once again, albeit slowly, we were back to outdoor rehearsals, but we continued to offer Zoom as a rehearsal option.

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