Sing into spring with our wonderful choral director Jenny Sterling and the help of the Chorus of Opera North. 90% of previous attendees said our singing workshops improved their wellbeing, so why not give it a try? It’s guaranteed to brighten up your day!
This course is open to singers of all levels, from complete beginners to experienced choir-goers. If you don’t read music or know your voice type, don’t worry, you’ll be provided with all the resources you need to help you experience what it’s like to sing in an opera chorus – all from the comfort of your own home!
By the end of the course, you’ll be able to sing excerpts from Verdi’s Aida (as seen in Opera North’s flashmob!), get to grips with the Trojan War through Mozart’s Idomeneo, and visit the water sprites and mythology of Dvořák’sRusalka. In the final session, singers from all vocal parts will come together to sing in a full virtual chorus.
The courseis ‘pay as you feel’ – you will have the opportunity to donate however much you like in the checkout stage and before or after each workshop.
‘It has been a beacon in these difficult times, to have an appointment to meet with other people and do something so uplifting’
‘The teacher was brilliant. Just the right level of humour to encourage learning.’
— From Couch to Chorus: The Festive Edition participants
Price
Pay as you feel
Accessibility
All day-time sessions will be live captioned. We can also provide song lyrics in large-print and Braille. Get in touch via info@operanorth.co.uk or 0113 2233600 for more information.
Dates & times
There is one session a week per voice type which will last approx. 1 hour. Please choose between daytime and evening sessions.
It isn’t too late to join us! If you’d like to take part, session recordings are available to help you catch up in your own time. Simply sign up and we’ll send you all the resources you need.
Sign up to From Couch to Chorus by clicking the sign-up button at the top of the page and selecting your voice type – Soprano, Alto, Tenor or Bass. You just need one ticket for the whole course. If you’re not sure what your voice type is, please email lifelonglearning@operanorth.co.uk and a member of our team will get in touch. At the checkout stage you will be given an opportunity to donate.
Step 2
Workshops are split out by voice type. 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 at a different time? 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 four-week course, you will be given the opportunity to meet fellow members from all voice types for anonline sing-through with singers from the Opera North Chorus.
Dates & times
There will be a weekly session per voice type. When you sign up, simply select either the morning or the evening sessions for the group you’d like to join.
Morning sessions are all captioned – this can be useful if you are hard of hearing or listening in a noisy environment.
Soprano
Wed 24 Feb, Wed 3 Mar, Wed 10 Mar, Wed 17 Mar
Morning sessions 11:30am – 12:30pm
Evening sessions 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Finale sessions: Tuesday 23rd March at 4:30pm and 6:15pm
Alto
Wed 24 Feb, Wed 3 Mar, Wed 10 Mar, Wed 17 Mar
Morning sessions 10am – 11am
Evening sessions 8pm – 9pm
Finale sessions: Tuesday 23rd March at 4:30pm and 6:15pm
Tenor
Thu 25 Feb, Thu 4 Mar, Thu 11 Mar, Thu 18 Mar
Morning sessions 11:30am – 12:30pm
Evening sessions 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Finale sessions: Tuesday 23rd March at 4:30pm and 6:15pm
Bass
Thu 25 Feb, Thu 4 Mar, Thu 11 Mar, Thu 18 Mar
Morning sessions 10am – 11am
Evening sessions 8pm – 9pm
Finale sessions: Tuesday 23rd March at 4:30pm and 6:15pm
If you can’t make the 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
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.
One of the biggest pieces of feedback we had from previous sessions is that people would love us to include an evening time slot for the different voice types. Due to time constraints that means for this edition we won’t be offering Fast Track, but it’s something that may come back in the future.
We do! We can send you the song lyrics in large-print and Braille. Please get in touch via lifelonglearning@operanorth.co.ukor 0113 2233600 for accessible content and more information.
We will be captioning all the day-time Zoom sessions. To enable the captions in Zoom, click on the ‘CC’ button which is to the right of the ‘Record’ button. You can then follow every word being spoken – this can be useful if you are hard of hearing or listening in a noisy environment.
