This year is ending in such a weirdly quiet way.
It makes me think, with some surprise, how much even the mundane and irritating signs of the season – like the incessant carols on the radio – end up reminding me how much December is all about singing and how I’m a little bit lost without hearing our voices together.
How can we celebrate the turn of the year and all the festivals of light without singing? No Messiah, no chorus concerts, no caroling – just another screen view of those people we love, somewhere away from us, and wishing we could be together.
That’s why Amateur Music Network’s Singing Saturdays has been so meaningful for me: at Christmastime, there should be singing! Don’t let the pandemic prevent you from celebrating the holidays in song.
Join the Singing Saturdays series finale on Saturday, December 19, at 11 a.m. PST to sing seasonal carols and selections from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Singing Saturdays is led by the amazing Ragnar Bohlin, world-renowned director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, which has thrilled audiences and made many glorious recordings. Ragnar has spent the pandemic in his native Sweden. But through the magic of Amateur Music Network and Zoom he’ll be right in your living room, leading you and singers from around the world in an hour of focused singing to lift your spirits for the holidays. And there’s a special treat in store: we’ll celebrate Beethoven’s 250th birthday by reading through the Ode to Joy from the Ninth Symphony.
We know our online workshops can’t replace an in-person choir, and on Zoom nobody can hear you singing. But Ragnar’s unique ability to connect through the screen will have you feeling like you’re getting a personal coaching from one of the very best. And with Amateur Music Network the focus is always on being together in a community of music-makers, even while we’re apart.