Thank you for your editorial – it needed to be said (The Guardian view on singing in groups: hitting the right notes, 18 December). As a member of a large community-based choral society and also a church choir, I know very well the positive benefits of singing together. In both choirs we complied fully with the Covid regulations (albeit through gritted teeth) and operated risk-management plans, but inevitably some singers gave up and have not returned.
It was galling to watch a badminton club holding indoor sessions in June 2021 while we, as an amateur choir of 150 members, were relegated to an outdoor rehearsal with limited numbers. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport did nothing to support communal choral singing despite strong representations from Making Music (the National Federation of Music Societies) while amateur sport groups were allowed to meet indoors. It seemed that ignorance and prejudice ruled. We have survived and are now attracting new joiners, but it has been a long, hard journey.
Penny Champion
London
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