We’ve experienced first-hand the remarkable impact ensemble singing can have on those affected by loss.
Our work in this area began during the pandemic in 2020 when people were losing loved ones suddenly and often without opportunities to say goodbye. Funerals, memorials or other ceremonies were also severely limited due to the strict regulations at the time. For most people, these bereavement rituals are vital parts of processing the death of a loved one and as the pandemic wore on, the lack of space for shared expressions of loss soon contributed to a crises in complex and unresolved grief.
You can find out more about the impact of covid on grief and bereavement in this report by the National Centre for Social Research.
Singing together is often a central part of ceremonies that celebrate a person’s life and form a key part of the rituals of loss which were so strongly curtailed during the pandemic. We wanted to do something to respond to this crisis and between 2020-2021, we developed our Rite to Grieve pilot project in partnership with Ellie Harrison and The Grief Series with support from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Alongside developing a new community workshop format, we commissioned composer Rebecca Dale to write a new piece for the project. My North was premiered at a commemorative ceremony at the National Covid Memorial Wall in March 2022.
