During the Covid 19 lockdown the community choir Amber Valley Voices have worked with their MD Angie Cope and accompanist and composer Chris Lawry to write a lock down inspired song to rehearse in their Zoom rehearsals to hopefully use in their forthcoming concerts once restrictions are eased and we can begin to meet and sing together again.

Welcome to the Choir is a quirky, fun concert piece for a cappella SATB choir written in 2013 by UK composer Chris Lawry and commissioned by Parkrose High School PHS Choir, Lesley Bossert and the Parkrose Educational Foundation. It received its US/World premier by the choir in April 2014 and the UK premiere, by the Harlequin Chamber Choir, in May 2014.The piece is a fantastic, descriptive, concert opener, and is dedicated to the past, present and future students of Parkrose 'may your singing serve as a healing element to the realities of life, giving you lifelong friendships and show you the importance of beauty in our lives through music'.The piece features descriptive elements from each section of the choir, 'bass line on beat' 'tenor rhythm off beat' 'soprano melody' alto harmonies, homophony, polyphony, melismatic singing, a great show piece to introduce the choir at concerts and shows. Much can also be made of the theatrical elements of the piece (at the conductor's discretion).The recording is a temporary computerised fix until the commissioning choir have finalised their recording of the piece later in 2014 (words below), sounds odd computerised but sounds incredible live! WORDS:[Basses] Let's start with the bass line. On beat. (repeated)[Tenors] and add in a tenor rhythm. Off beat. (")[Sopranos] Now for soprano melody; beautiful melody, soprano melody.[Altos] But don't forget the altos who can turn a melody, into harmony (S A) Melody and Harmony.STOP![All] We sing in homophony, ah! Homophony, ah! From minor to major, and changing the key...To sing in polyphony, polyphony, melismatic polyphony.Welcome to the choir! (x5)..................The recording is by the Izhevsk Choir conducted by Lev Nakariakov.