IT’S been over a year since members of Bradford Festival Choral Society (BFCS) were able to meet together for rehearsals and concerts, but that’s not stopped their music making. Weekly rehearsals have continued online throughout the pandemic, providing a musical and social lifeline for their many members, and concerts have been created digitally, with individual recordings edited together to create virtual performances. The choir’s musical team have had to learn new video and audio editing skills to put these together, and their three online performances have so far reached over 7,000 views. Instead of charging for tickets, the digital performances have raised £1500 in donations for two local charities, Bradford Metropolitan Foodbank and Bradford Friendship Choir (a group for refugees and asylum seekers). Helen Lynskey - secretary of Bradford Metropolitan Foodbank - thanked the choir saying: “This is truly wonderful, having such an amount of money will allow us to buy in bulk the items we run out of most in our food parcels.” The choir’s most ambitious digital project yet premieres on Saturday May 8 - a full performance of Haydn’s Nelson Mass, featuring the choir, four up and coming soloists and Yorkshire’s professional orchestra, the Skipton Camerata. Visit www.youtube.com/bradfordfestivalchoralsociety