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Chor Leoni keeps choral music alive during COVID-19

Faced with the new reality of no in-person rehearsals or concerts, the men's choir is starting up a livestream to connect audiences with choral music during the pandemic
Julie Maclellan
Chor Leoni
The Chor Leoni men's choir is finding creative ways to connect audiences with choral music during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's launching a new livestream on Wednesday, April 1.David Cooper, contributed

One Lower Mainland choir is reaching out virtually to make sure choral music continues in the face of COVID-19.

With social isolation becoming the new normal and choirs everywhere forced to stop meeting in person, Chor Leoni is launching a new weekly show starting Wednesday, April 1 at 7 p.m.

The Vancouver-area men’s choir will share the livestream on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

The Inside Chor Leoni Livestream will be hosted by artistic director Erick Lichte, from his home, and will include high-quality concert videos from the past seven years of filming at the choir’s shows.

The choir will also be creating new video content from its albums, pairing its music with artwork from local artists in an effort to reach out and help all artists as much as it can at a time that’s challenging the entire arts and cultural sector.

The livestream will also include a weekly guest – a locally or internationally recognized music luminary, with an interview and video.

Viewers will also be able to interact within the live comments section.

Lichte underscored the importance of choral music, especially at this time of global uncertainty.

“I believe that choral music has a unique healing quality,” he said in a press release. “It can offer serenity, beauty and can connect with people in ways I don’t even understand. We want to pair this music power with the fun wrapping of a show in a way that is very Chor Leoni.

“Choral music is, for me, the ultimate way in which people can come together. This show won’t replace the community we share as a choir and with our audience, but hopefully it will move us from our current reality to the day we can again bring our voices together and they can be heard.”

For the April 1 livestream, the guest is conductor Ethan Sperry, talking about Translations, his new recording of the works of Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds on the Naxos label.

The show will also premiere the first video for the album’s recording of Esenvalds’ In Paradisum, paired in video with paintings by renowned Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»­artist Tiko Kerr.

Take part on , or @chorleoni, or see .

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NOTE: The story was updated March 31 to reflect the 7 p.m. start time.

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