From Couch to Chorus: The Festive Edition (Fast Track)
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Interested in the From Couch to Chorus programme, but fancy more of a challenge?
Join us for our two-week ‘Fast Track’ course, where singers of all voice types will come together to take a faster paced look at selected festive repertoire. Aimed at singers with proficient musical literacy, these sessions will skip the note-learning stage and focus on further refining your style and technique. Over the course of two workshops you will learn the same repertoire as our five-week series From Couch to Chorus: The Festive Edition, along with some more advanced music.
‘Fast Track’ is designed as a standalone workshop series for singers who can learn the notes in their own time at home and jump straight to the advanced stuff. However, if you are taking part in the main project and would like an extra challenge you are also welcome to join! After the two weeks, you are invited to join together with singers from the wider project for an online festive concert to run through what you’ve learnt, sing some Christmas carols and ask the team any questions.
This workshop does not include any note-learning, so we recommend taking a look at the music in advance in order to get the most out of the workshop – you can download scores for use at home on our Resources page. This workshop is open to all voice types.
The workshop is ‘pay as you feel’, giving you the opportunity to donate however much you like in both the checkout stage and before or after each workshop.
Dates & times
There is one session a week which will last approximately 1 hour. Please see details below.
Any questions?
Please contact lifelonglearning@operanorth.co.uk and we’d be happy to help.
From Couch to Chorus and our wider education programme is kindly supported by the Emerald Foundation.
Step 1
Sign up to the From Couch to Chorus Fast Track sessions by clicking the sign up button at the top of the page. At the checkout stage you will be given an opportunity to donate.
Step 2
Workshops are open to all voice types. You’ll receive an email before your workshop each week with the Zoom meeting link and other resources to help you with your singing. On the day of the meeting, make sure Zoom is downloaded on your laptop, tablet or mobile and click the link to enter the workshop.
Step 3
Can’t make a session or want to practice in the evening instead? After each workshop, you will be sent the Zoom recording so you can recap the lesson or go over it at a time that suits you. At the end of the two –week course, you will be given the opportunity to meet fellow members from all voice types at a festive online sing-through with singers from the Opera North Chorus.
Dates & times
| Thursday 3 Dec | 7 – 8pm GMT |
| Thursday 10 Dec | 7 – 8pm GMT |
| Culmination Session: Monday 14 Dec | time TBC | |
FAQs
Do I need to warm up?
No, warm up exercises will be included at the beginning of each session.
I can’t make the session timings due to work – can I still join?
If you can’t make the daytime sessions due to other commitments, we’ll be sending the Zoom recordings after each workshop so you can catch up at a time that suits you.
I haven’t received my confirmation email or Zoom links – what do I do?
If you have not received your confirmation email within 24 hours of signing up the membership, please check the following areas before contacting the Box Office:
- Junk or Spam folders
- Check you are opted in to hear from us via email – this can be checked in Your Account in the ‘Contact Preferences’ section
- Check you have completed the membership sign up process correctly – you should receive a receipt of ‘purchase’ within 1 hour of signing up
How do I download Zoom?
To download Zoom onto your desktop, follow this link: https://zoom.us/download
Step-by-step:
- Click the link
- A web page should open. If you have Zoom on your device, click launch Zoom.us. If you don’t have Zoom, follow the below steps
If you don’t have Zoom on your device:
- Click join from your browser. If you can’t see this option, click on the download & run Zoom button, and then click join from your browser at the bottom of the screen
- Follow the on screen instructions to enter your name and/or email address, and prove you’re not a robot
- You will then be taken to the Zoom call
I’ve downloaded Zoom, how do I join the Zoom call?
To join the call, please click the link from your email, which should open in your web browser. Your browser will then prompt you to open Zoom (if you have it installed on your device) or to join the call from your browser. Alternatively, you can open the Zoom application, click ‘join a meeting’, and enter the meeting ID and password.
Why can’t I hear the other singers in the session?
Unfortunately, the time delay on Zoom means it’s impossible for everyone to sing at the same time. To solve this, everyone is muted during sessions so you can sing along and learn at home without distraction.
I can’t see the music properly on Zoom – how do I fix this?
There are two View settings on Zoom – ‘Gallery View’ and ‘Speaker View’. Please make sure you select the ‘Speaker View’ setting on Zoom once the workshop has begun, to ensure that you see the session properly. You change your View settings by clicking the icons in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Sometimes, other participant’s faces can cover the right-hand side of the screen when the sheet music is being shared on-screen. If the faces are obscuring your view of the music, you can remove them by either minimising the thumbnails, or clicking ‘View Options’ at the top of the screen and selecting ‘Side-by-Side’ mode.
