Libera Dreams

France is on the edge too... apparently they are scared for the economy so they won't take big steps, but some places are to close again, like sport facilities, movie theatres, maybe restaurant after 8 or 10 pm. I am unsure if going to visit my family will be an option in the following monthes. If Paris residents aren't authorized to leave for other cities, it might be my very first Christmas without my family.

A virtual concert would be cheering everyone up

Finally, the 24th April appeared on the official Libera page.
I hope so much, this performance will happen.

As we all know, in the life of a child, six months is a long time. This situation is making me nervous, I fear for the survival of Libera. Students in the UK are now back in school, in their classrooms, with no "social" distancing. I have no idea if this same practice is applying to Libera rehearsals or if they are still trying to do things virtually.

If they are still participating virtually, I can see a number of boys losing interest because of no interaction during rehearsals, and therefore, moving on to other interests. I would imagine, recruiting new boys is, for the most part, nearly impossible right now.

I'm probably all wet behind the ears on this opinion (hopefully), not fully knowing the day to day situation. I do believe that the next time we see Libera in concert, there will be very few faces we'll recognize.

Just my 2 cents.

TimS_TheToolman wrote: ↑<span title="Fri Oct 09, 2020 4:06 pm">4 years ago</span> As we all know, in the life of a child, six months is a long time. This situation is making me nervous, I fear for the survival of Libera. Students in the UK are now back in school, in their classrooms, with no "social" distancing. I have no idea if this same practice is applying to Libera rehearsals or if they are still trying to do things virtually.

If they are still participating virtually, I can see a number of boys losing interest because of no interaction during rehearsals, and therefore, moving on to other interests. I would imagine, recruiting new boys is, for the most part, nearly impossible right now.

I'm probably all wet behind the ears on this opinion (hopefully), not fully knowing the day to day situation. I do believe that the next time we see Libera in concert, there will be very few faces we'll recognize.

Just my 2 cents.

It will definitely be a different group of boys soloing but that’s Libera anyway it’s a revolving door of talent. It sucks that the older boys have had their time cut short and for the fans to miss opportunities to hear them at their peaks but unfortunately the world is a mess at the moment and it could be another year or two before we even get to see them live. The situation across Europe once again is horrific and until we get a vaccination it’s not going to get much better.

Maybe it's because I simply want to think so, but honestly, I do think that they will survive! I own an unshakable confidence in Robert's capabilities of maintaining the boys' interest also in such a challenging situation. In addition, there are other people around them who I'm sure will do all they can to guide Libera safely through the storm of this pandemic, like Sam Coates for example.

Also, there doesn't seem to be much occasion for the boys to move on to other activities. I agree that 6 months can be a long time for smaller children, but most of them are not so young anymore. As a mother of two I can assure that a passion does not stop that easily. Most of the Libera boys obviously love being a part of Libera; many stay connected there after their voice change and later on. This shows how deeply related many of them come to feel as Libera members, which can transfer to other members as well. I'm only not so sure about the very new and young ones, as they lack experience with the normal Libera life. Their interest could crumble.

Recruiting new singers is an issue, however, other choirs recruit online; so a way can be found there as well.

All in all I'm currently not panicking about their future existence. I want to and I do believe in it, although it requires an enormous patience from everyone of us. 

Of course you are correct about the naturally caused changes in the group and the missed opportunities for the boys and for us, which is the real frustration and pain, as performances have come to a standstill, but time has not.

LordG wrote: ↑<span title="Fri Aug 21, 2020 11:14 pm">4 years ago</span> As I have learned from well-informed circles, the Spring Concert 2020 will again
be postponed to Saturday, April 24th, 2021. It is not official yet, but under the
given circumstances it is the better solution.

If the spring concert 2020 is already postponed to spring 2021, it can probably
be assumed that the Christmas concert 2020 will not take place either.

So the whole year 2020 is more or less a complete disaster.

Well, you are right about 2020 being a disaster. If you had told me at the start of the year I would only attend 4 concerts total in the entire 12 month period, I would have presumed you were crazy.

You were, thankfully, wrong about the Libera Xmas concerts!

Now, with vaccines rolling out, maybe it's time for a bit of positivity about the New Year?

Hands up if you are looking forward to Ely 2021?

Hi,

the situation is changing for the worse in my country. A hard lockdown is expected over the holidays.
Since I'm planning something in Norway in March, I don't see the future so bright yet. In Sweden,
the numbers are also going up.

The vaccinations will show their effect according to experts only in the middle of the year.
In my opinion, the glass is rather half empty than half full.

Even if by chance I could attend, I am not optimistic about US numbers, which are currently outrageously high, being low enough by then to warrant the UK or other countries in Europe permitting us entry without unrealistic conditions like a 14 day quarantine.

With that said, perhaps another recorded concert could happen!

I would love to attend. Unfortunately, as long as there are mandatory quarantines either on arrival or on return, it is highly improbable I will be able to attend.

It would be nifty if travel restrictions could be lifted for vaccinated persons. Vaccinations for "tier 1", healthcare workers, long term care residents and first respondents hopefully will be carried out in the US in December and January, then "tier 2", people over 65 and with risk factors, should be vaccinated beginning in February. I'd like to hope that I could be vaccinated before April. Of course we know what Robert Burns would say about that.

The Government have announced today that the furlough scheme that keeps people at home doing nothing on 80% of full pay has been extended to the end of April 2021. Unfortunately, being the pessimist that I am, I think that suggests that the Government don't expect things to be back to 'normal' by April

Yorkie wrote: ↑<span title="Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:11 pm">4 years ago</span> The Government have announced today that the furlough scheme that keeps people at home doing nothing on 80% of full pay has been extended to the end of April 2021. Unfortunately, being the pessimist that I am, I think that suggests that the Government don't expect things to be back to 'normal' by April

I'm inclined to agree with their pessimism -- though I will continue to hope for a better than expected outcome.

Even if the concert were to take place in May, I have my doubts whether it is safe to travel to Ely at that point.

Dear Libera Booker,

Due to the current COVID situation, and following recent discussions with the promoter, it has been decided to postpone the Libera concert due to take place at Ely Cathedral this year. This has now been rescheduled for Saturday 21 May 2022 when we anticipate a less restrictive, safer environment for an event of this scale to take place.

Given how far in advance this date is, and the likelihood that current seating plans will be need to be reviewed, we are offering a full refund or a credit to all ticket holders. We hope to inform you as soon as tickets for this event go on sale but in the meantime, please do keep an eye on the websites for any updates - libera.org.uk or www.elycathedral.org

We apologise for any inconvenience and we look forward to welcoming you to the Cathedral in the near future.

Please let us know if you would like:
1) A full refund
2) Credit to roll forward to the next concert
3) To donate the money to the Cathedral (which we can Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer)

Yeah. I got the same email. I think they're just pushing things back slowly so that they can get going as soon as safely possible. I expect to get more emails like this. I will be surprised if anything happens before August/September, if then. But I'm sure that Libera will put something special together for us again, at some point and I'm sure they will make the Ely concert even more special, when it does eventually take place.

LordG wrote: ↑<span title="Mon Feb 01, 2021 1:36 pm">3 years ago</span> Even if the concert were to take place in May, I have my doubts whether it is safe to travel to Ely at that point.

Dear Libera Booker,

Due to the current COVID situation, and following recent discussions with the promoter, it has been decided to postpone the Libera concert due to take place at Ely Cathedral this year. This has now been rescheduled for Saturday 21 May 2022 when we anticipate a less restrictive, safer environment for an event of this scale to take place.

Given how far in advance this date is, and the likelihood that current seating plans will be need to be reviewed, we are offering a full refund or a credit to all ticket holders. We hope to inform you as soon as tickets for this event go on sale but in the meantime, please do keep an eye on the websites for any updates - libera.org.uk or www.elycathedral.org

We apologise for any inconvenience and we look forward to welcoming you to the Cathedral in the near future.

Please let us know if you would like:
1) A full refund
2) Credit to roll forward to the next concert
3) To donate the money to the Cathedral (which we can Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer)

I didn't read that it was supposed to take place in 2022. That's still almost 1.5 years away.
By then, a lot of water will have flowed down the Thames.