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Members Update January 2021

Zoom choir rehearsal will resume on Thursday 14th January 2021 @ 7:30pm

Members Update September 2020

As you may be aware the government guidelines for social distancing requirements although relaxed in some areas, remain in place for large groups and so we are sadly unable to resume normal choir rehearsals at present. Furthermore, the Watford School of Music reopening rules require groups of more than 15 people to be divided and rehearsed separately which requires additional staffing.  We will continue to monitor the situation and as always, put the safety and well-being of all our members at the forefront of any decisions we make.

Jo is very keen to keep the momentum of the Choir running, and following committee members feedback suggesting a more interactive experience, commencing Thursday 17 September 2020 at 7:30pm and each Thursday thereafter at 7.30pm for 45 minutes (excluding school holidays) Jo accompanied by Ken will be conducting real-time live rehearsal session using “ZOOM”, a free online app which you can easily download from the app store.  Jo will NOT continue with her YOUTUBE videos.

How does “ZOOM” work?

1. Download the free “ZOOM” app to your PC, laptop or tablet.
2. If you are NOT already on Jo’s email distribution list to receive song material and notifications please email her at joannasear@gmail.com to express your interest in joining the rehearsal sessions and she will add you to her list for inclusion.
3. Each Thursday you will receive an email notification from Jo to “join the meeting” in “ZOOM” (you will also receive a one time password).
4. For now, the sound from choir members joining the session will be muted, however you will be able to see some of their faces on screen and you will be able to hear and sing along with Jo and Ken. This is necessary due to time lags causing issues with sound clashes.

As this is our first time using “ZOOM”  there may be some technical issues to resolve during the initial set up, but we very much hope it will be a more enjoyable and interactive experience.

The first 6 weeks of the “ZOOM” rehearsal sessions will be free of charge up to Thursday 29 October, after which members will be required to make a contribution of £2.00 per rehearsal session.

To keep the mechanism of collecting members contributions as simple as possible we require you to make one payment for the remaining 6 weeks of this term's rehearsal sessions (commencing Thursday 05 November up to 10 December) of £12 or the equivalent amount for the number of sessions that you participated in. All payments should be made no later than 18 December 2020.

How to pay

1. We would very much prefer all members to transfer their payment directly into the One Voice Choir bank account and you can do this using internet banking or asking the cashier at your own bank to transfer the fund for you.
2. We will provide you with the One Voice Watford Community Choir bank details during one of the “ZOOM” rehearsal sessions on or after 05 November.
3.  When making your payment please add your surname as the reference so we can easily identify who the payment is from.
4. If you do not have internet banking or are unable to easily visit your bank please email the One Voice website address info@onevoicewatford.com and we will help you find an alternative payment method.

 We do hope you will join us on “ZOOM” and that you enjoy the new interactive experience.  Happy Singing everyone !!.  

Best Regards, Mandy West

*** CORONAVIRUS UPDATE 27 May 2020***

Dear All

We do hope that you and your families are keeping safe and well during this very unusual time.  We thought we would share our views with you regarding the current COVID-19 position and how this will impact the Choir during the remainder of the summer term.

As you are all aware the country continues to remain in a lock down position, however the Government is making some measured changes to ease restrictions in certain areas, whilst maintaining social distancing at all time.

At this point in time, we do not envisage that the Choir will resume until after the school summer holidays (which ends in the first week of September) at the earliest and only then if the Government guidance permits group activities.

We do and will continue to put the safety and wellbeing of all our members at the forefront of any decisions we make regarding the Choir resuming rehearsals.  Should there be any change in circumstances we will keep you up to date via our website and face book page.

We would like to express our enormous appreciation and thanks to Jo for her brillant efforts in providing warmups, songs and tuition for member rehearsal participation whilst in lock down. Jo's weekly updates (which will continue until mid-July) keep our voices in fine tune and our spirits high and we love receiving them.  If you would like to join in, please follow the link below to Jo's YouTube page.

Mandy West, (Chair)