For the first time since March 15, when COVID-19 restrictions muffled its voice, the choir of Christ Church Cathedral held a rehearsal inside the sacred space on Tuesday night - just in time for Christmas.
"It's a Christmas miracle," said the cathedral's Master of the Choristers, Peter Guy.
"It was fantastic to be inside, and it came together quite well under the circumstances."
Those circumstances revolve around the restrictions imposed on indoor singing.
After months of COVID-induced silence, only five people could sing together in one area. That was loosened on Monday, with the NSW government allowing up to 50 singers together indoors.
But the official advice is that "group singing and chanting remains a high-risk activity for transmission should someone involved be infected".
NSW Health says singers must face forwards, keep 1.5 metres between each other, and be five metres away from anyone in front, including the conductor.
The 16 choristers at Tuesday night's rehearsal followed that advice.
Bass chorister Max Reeder said it was "invigorating" to be singing together again, but the distancing was "a bit off-putting".
"It felt as if you were a singing a solo surrounded by the rest of the choir," Mr Reeder said.
Peter Guy said when the singers were "spread that far out, it's quite difficult".
"The people at the back of the choir were nine and a half metres from where I was conducting, so that puts them a long way away from me," Mr Guy said.
For the Christmas services, the choir is likely to expand to 30 members. With that in mind, Peter Guy has written to NSW Health seeking an exemption for the choir's positioning. He hopes they can use the choir stalls, meaning the singers would face each other, but at a distance.
"We would be able to sing more as a choir rather than as a disparate group," Mr Guy said. "We're not trying to flout the rules, we just want a bit of flexibility in how they apply them."
In a statement to the Newcastle Herald, a NSW Health spokesperson said the organisation "does not discuss individual applications for exemptions before they have gone through the appropriate exemptions process".
The statement pointed out group singing was considered a high-risk activity "due to the increased chance of spreading COVID-19 when a singer projects their voice".
"In the past, there have been outbreaks at religious gatherings," the NSW Health spokesperson said.
However, Mr Guy argued, "Given there's no community transmissions in Newcastle, and we have risk mitigation measures in place, we would like to use the choir stalls".
"They would help us be closer and hear each other better," he said.
For now, Peter Guy said, it was "joyous" to hear so many voices again, as the choir made up for lost time, preparing for a couple of carol services before Christmas Day.
"Since Christmas last year, we've sung for six weeks, and now here we are back at Christmas," Mr Guy said.
But the prospect of a larger choir for Christmas brings joy to Max Reeder.
"Singing at home is OK," Mr Reeder said.
"But singing with others, there's nothing that beats that."
Read more: COVID restrictions "a bitter pill to swallow" for singers
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