Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire has been on my musical map since I was a judge on BBC Choir of the Year fifteen years ago, and heard Scunthorpe Cooperative Junior Choir (that choir is still going strong, 97 years old now) under their then conductor Sue Hollingworth. SCJC soon went on to win this award – an amazing feat, particularly in those earlier times when the choral world was a bit less adventurous and imaginative than it is now.
I was therefore very happy to meet Sue’s present adult charges, Scunthorpe and District Choral Society, during one of their weekly Zoom rehearsals. Typically with this conductor, new work by Alexander L’Estrange and Joanna Forbes L’Estrange, was being looked at. I so admire our choirs and their directors under current conditions, getting on with their music in whatever ways they can. We agreed during our Zoom chat that keeping up these musical links is vital, and will stand us in good stead in the future, when live communal singing at last resumes.
