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A Jerseywoman has joined over 250 of her fellow London choir members in a rousing online fundraiser to support survivors of domestic abuse and remind them, 'you've got a friend.'
Amber Mezbourian, who grew up in Jersey and has been living in London for the last four years, is accustomed to her weekly choir practices with the London City Voices.
When the choir’s spring concert was cancelled due to the outbreak, their director, Richard Swan, had an idea.
“With everyone in lockdown not able to go to rehearsals and perform like we usually do, Richard decided to do a remote video as a way of keeping everyone involved in the choir,” Amber told Express.
Richard said: “For many of our members, our choir is like an extended family. Although we are all separated from each other at this time, we really wanted to come together to do something positive in the crisis.”
276 choir members participated in the video, each recording themselves from home. The clips were then meticulously edited together by one of the choir members to ensure that everyone was singing together in time.
Here’s 276 of us singing You’ve Got A Friend for @womensaid and help fight the domestic abuse that is increasing in this time of isolation. #YouAreNotAlone #WeAreStrongerTogether #SupportSurvivors
— London City Voices Choir (@LondonCityVoice) April 17, 2020
Watch & listen here: https://t.co/qve4Dc8bHR
Donate here: https://t.co/FF7QuujfW1 pic.twitter.com/jY0OCbPNs0
“Singing along to the backing track” from her bedroom was a new experience for Amber, who is continuing working for the British Council from home in Jersey.
“Obviously a big part of being in a choir is singing with other people,” she said. “To take away the rest of the choir members and practice your part by yourself is a strange concept. Once all the parts fitted together though, we became a choir again.”
Pictured: London City Voice's director, Richard Swan, conducting the choir in their video.
As well as “bringing everyone together as a community”, the choir’s aim was to raise money for UK domestic abuse charity, Women’s Aid.
The cover of ‘You’ve got a friend’, which was arranged by Richard, was chosen for its “fitting” lyrics and sentiments. “We would like everyone to feel that they have someone to turn to, and that they are not alone, whatever their circumstances,” he said.
Thank you so much to everyone has donated so far, this is incredible! Please do watch if you haven't seen this yet & thank you again @LondonCityVoice ???? https://t.co/zZEJMPokmD
— Women's Aid (@womensaid) April 19, 2020
Demand for the charity’s live chat service has risen 41% since lockdown was imposed in the UK. “The service is crucial for giving advice to women suffering domestic abuse and who may not be able to make phone calls without being overheard,” Richard explained.
The fundraising has gone “beyond” what any of the choir members expected. They reached their initial target of £10,000 after just nine hours, and are now close to meeting their new goal of £30,000.
While the choir regularly sings to audiences of around 1000 people, their online video has received nearly 30,000 views to date.
Richard said: “We really appreciate everyone’s generosity in donating to the Women’s Aid live chat campaign, and we hope that people will share the video with their friends. We really are stronger together.”
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