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Orangeville choristers taking part in virtual singing of O Canada

June 25, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Paula Brown

Orangeville Show Chorus members are taking part in a virtual singing of O Canada as part of a new project put together by InstaChoir. 

“Most of us won’t be able to celebrate Canada Day the way we normally would this year, and we want to help people connect with each other. It is our hope that this virtual choir performance will bring all Canadians together, either as performers, or simply by enjoying our tribute to Canada,” says Jordan Travis, founder and director of InstaChoir. 

InstaChoir is a virtual choir that was launched in 2019. Scheduled to stream on July 1 the performance of the national anthem will have over 300 singers from Canada and worldwide ranging from the ages of 9 to 80 years old. Orangeville Show Chorus members Anne Richardson, Anne Somerville, Pat Vipond, Joan Borden (director), Laurie Moore (associate director), Bev Kyro, Joanne Davis, Barb Gilmore, Gaye Vill, and Marg Smith will all take part in the virtual event. 

“I got involved initially because of knowing Jordan and having him as a chorus coach,” said Anne Richardson. “It just looked like a really fun thing to do, especially to do something for Canada Day and promote the country.” 

The project is created by individual singers recording their audio and visual parts in isolation. The parts are then put together by technicians, who create a single recording of the performance.  What is essentially a solo performance is given the illusion of a large choir. 

“It’s kind of like standing on the risers and singing with a group but it feels like you are singing a solo because the people aren’t standing next to you,” said Ms. Richardson. “You’re sitting at your computer, singing your part, listening to the others in your ear. It’s a lot of new technology to learn and it is fun to do but it’s a learning curve for sure.” 

The Canada Day performance is not InstaChoir’s first one this year. In early May over 100 participants, including members from the Orangeville Show Chorus, performed Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, which can be found on YouTube. 

“Doing virtual choirs, because of the time we’re living in, it’s really the only way you can get together and sign,” said Ms. Richardson. 

The performance of O Canada will be available to stream on July 1. 

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