Top 10 Virtual Choir Videos of 2020
The Covid-19 Pandemic changed the face of choral music worldwide, and brought with it the rise of the virtual choir video. As thousands of groups around the world switched from in person operations to online and zoom rehearsals. As difficult as this year has been for all of us, it’s brought about some incredibly creative, heartwarming and collaborate digital projects! We love seeing how choirs everywhere have persevered and continued to connect and inspire their communities!
Here are our top picks of Virtual Choir videos from 2020.
“What the World Needs Now” Virtual Choir & Orchestra
This video was produced by a student in The Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, Shelbie Rassler, by bringing together her friends and peers to create this beautiful and inspiring video. Talk about talented kids! Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David
2. “True Colors” by Camden Voices (self-isolation/virtual choir cover)
Camden Voices is a talented vocal collective based in the U.K. who recorded this song in March 2020 right after the initial lockdown due to Covid-19. The 28 singers recorded themselves at home and produced this beautiful cover of the well known Cindi Lauper song, after their rehearsals, concerts, and upcoming tour were suddenly canceled.
“This video shows what can happen when we work together, and how we can overcome obstacles with technology and our imagination. It is 28 individual videos, submitted from all over the world, combined into one- a truly international collaboration that shows the power of music in our lives”
3. Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir 6: Sing Gently
You simply cannot talk about virtual choirs without mentioning Eric Whitacre. Whitacre started producing worldwide virtual choir projects over 11 years ago, long before they were popular or accessible for most choirs. This particular piece was released last July, and is the result of 17,572 singers from 129 countries coming together to perform his original song “Sing Gently”. By far the largest group of singers we’ve seen in a virtual choir, and definitely worth a mention!
4. “Longest Time” - Quarantine Edition by Phoenix Chamber Choir
Recorded in isolation in April 2020, we love this hilarious parody by Phoenix Chamber Choir, with choral participants from across Canada! “Please enjoy this COVID-19 public service announcement and virtual expression of love and solidarity from the ever-enthusiastic Phoenix Family and choral comrades.”
5. “Nearer, My God, to Thee” Worldwide Virtual Choir and Orchestra
If you like hymns, you’ll love this stunning arrangement of “Nearer, My God, to Thee” by BYU Vocal Point. Vocal Point is a 9 member men’s a cappella ensemble that sings contemporary music and christian spirituals. This arrangement involves 800 musicians from 55 countries, and while it’s not a capella, it showcases the group’s beautiful vocals and masterful harmonies.
6. “Higher and Higher” Universal Gospel Choir
This *high* energy virtual choir is a collaboration between Vancouver’s Universal Gospel Choir and local youth powerhouses Perry Ehrlich’s Showstoppers. This fun and upbeat virtual choir video has great soloists, and features the Showstoppers dancing outside their homes in the sunshine.
7. “Taranto” - Once Voice Children’s Choir
If you haven’t heard of this immensely talented children’s choir, we’re here to remedy that! One Voice Children’s Choir is based in the Wasatch Front region (Utah) in the United States and is made up of 150-200 youth, ages 4-18, and is the flagship ambassador program for One Voice Children. We hope you are as inspired and uplifted by these young voices as we are!
8. “This is Halloween” - Richmond Children’s Theatre
Speaking of talented kids, this virtual choir version of “This is Halloween” from the Nightmare Before Christmas is probably the coolest video we’ve ever seen. The video, with the kids singing and performing as spooky portraits on the wall is brilliant in both concept and execution and absolutely deserves a place on this list.
9. You’ve Got A Friend — The [Worldwide] cast of BEAUTIFUL
The cast of BEAUTIFUL, the Carole King musical from productions all over the world sang this incredible cover of “You’ve Got A Friend” as a fundraiser for the Actor’s Fund. It’s obvious that each of these singers is incredibly talented, and this virtual video has all the good vibes and fuzzy feelings you could ask for in a time of global isolation.
10. Lift Every Voice and Sing - Stanford Talisman Alumni Virtual Choir
This video was released last June, at the peak of the Black Lives Matter protests in the US. If you don’t know the history and the powerful message of this song, the “black national anthem”, now is your chance to learn! The video opens with a brief history and reading of the poem that the lyrics were based on, features a number of skilled soloists singing their hearts out, and is an excellent a capella arrangement of this well known song.
