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WATCH: Kelowna choir members sing together virtually

UpStage Kelowna Show Choir wanted to sing together, even if it’s in video form
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A Kelowna choir sang together virtually after weeks of not being able to rehearse together. (UpStage Kelowna Show Choir)

It had been a while since the last time the members of UpStage Kelowna Show Choir practiced, due to the ongoing physical distancing mandate from the government.

But just because they’re apart doesn’t mean they can’t sing together.

Member Theresa Sjodin said normally, they got together once or twice a week to rehearse but due to the current situation, the choir hasn’t sung together in weeks as their season has been postponed.

“I asked myself: ‘now, what do we do?’ I’ve seen some groups do videos like this and I thought, ‘we have a bunch of numbers we know now that we’ve been rehearsing, so let’s find a good one and see if we can put it together’,” she said.

She said it even worked out better than she thought it would. She said each member recorded their part separately, which Sjodin said took about two weeks for everyone to get their individual video done.

“Then the actual process of actually layering the videos together took me probably about ten hours because I was learning the (editing) program as I was using it.”

“We’re all really happy with how it turned out,” she added.

The song, titled ‘Take Me Home’, talks about individuals can work together and not give up. Sjodin said they hope the song will inspire people to stick together and keep going despite the grief and anxiety the pandemic has brought.

The show choir usually puts on a show at the beginning of May and then again in June, but Sjodin said they don’t know what will happen to those shows. She said they still continue to hold meetings via conference calls and video chats to keep plans fresh in their minds.

“But once this is all over, we don’t know. We’ll reconvene and figure out when we can do our show.”

She said there are no concrete plans to get another virtual choir video out yet, but they are thinking about it. She said they have to look for another song in their repertoire to record for everyone to enjoy.

Sjodin said their shows and their 2020/2021 season may be postponed for now, but she said they’re always looking for new members to join along.

For more information, visit the show choir’s website.

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Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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