Yorkshire choir up for national award after turning to Zoom during lockdown

Last year, along with so much of day-to-day life, church halls that would ring out with weekly rehearsals fell quiet.

But for one group in Knaresborough, the pandemic wasn’t going to stop them from coming together to practise, albeit over Zoom.

And now the Knot Another Choir’s efforts to continue to lift spirits in the darkest of times have been rewarded twice – by seeing a swell in their numbers and by being recognised for a national award.

Julie Bradbury-Sharp, 65, and her husband John, 69, have spent the past decade building the choir up in the North Yorkshire town and in December 2019, things were on the up with the appointment of new musical director, Craig Lees, the President for the British Voice Association.

But just months later, the beginning of lockdown meant the choir’s progress was curtailed. Mrs Bradbury-Sharp said: “We were just about to have a charity concert and we had to stop. We stopped the week before lockdown – it was getting daft.

“But by April, people were sending out Zoom invitations, and Gareth Malone was doing a Zoom choir. So I thought, what’s stopping us doing one?

“I asked Craig, and he was more than happy. We made it good fun.”

Before long, dozens of people were joining the weekly Zoom meetings of Knot Another Choir to rehearse together, and to showcase their talents in a “Quarantunes” section.

Singing over Zoom where body language cues were far harder to follow threw up its own set of challenges. “It was very difficult,” remembered Mrs Bradbury-Sharp. “Craig tried to put up a pretence that he could hear us and we were sounding good.

“He taught us our different parts, and we had to wait until the next time we came together to practise. But just to see each other and smile at each other, it made us all feel normal again. It was lovely. The highlight of the week.”

News of Knot Another Choir’s lockdown efforts spread, and the group competed at virtual music festivals organised by Feva in Knaresborough. And by the time the group was finally able to meeting again in person, numbers had swelled to three figures, with members ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s.

Mrs Bradbury-Sharp said: “We’re back, and we’re back with a vengeance. The practises make you feel alive. You’re moving, your’re singing, you’re dancing. After we’ve all been locked away, it’s so wonderful.”

The icing on the cake for the couple was their nomination for a Making Music Award. Making Music, a membership organisation of community groups, recognised Mr and Mrs Bradbury-Sharp in second place for their Heroes category for their work during lockdown following a public vote.

Mrs Bradbury-Sharp said: “We were so delighted. For people at choirs, sometimes there’s an element of thinking ‘it just happens.’ So for people to realise how it’s organised – that’s what we’re proudest of.”