Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Libera

[bachmahlerfan]

I know this has come up a couple times in existing threads, but I think it deserves its own thread. If this gets bad enough, Libera's involvement with church services and recording sessions could be put on hold for a while. I don't want to say much about how I feel about the UK's government handling of this so far, but would rather focus on how future actions affect them. I wouldn't be surprised if Libera/St. Philip's says something about the situation in the near future.

[Prototype]

I imagine it probably will impact them in some way, and the concert in Ely may even be put on hold because of it. We will have to see what Boris decides to do next, if anything.

[j8000]

I would be very surprised if all concerts and tours aren't suspended until the autumn at the very earliest.

For the Korea tour it's not possible to reorganise at short notice should things unexpectedly improve in both countries - it will be cancelled.

Ely won't go ahead in June, that will likely be one of the peak months and it will need to be cancelled ahead of time.

Album recording might be a different matter. However, PHE have stated choral singers are at particular risk of transmission due to droplets in the air -this is why New College choir was suspended last week. As we move into the delay phase and with Libera all being children who are at least risk, it might well be possible to organise something.

[Prototype]

I wasn't aware of any other up coming concerts other than the one in Ely, do you have some insider info j8000 ?

[j8000]

I wasn't aware of any other up coming concerts other than the one in Ely, do you have some insider info j8000 ?

No, I suppose I meant concerts that might have been in the pipeline but not announced yet.

[Wolf]

I'd be thrilled to be proved wrong (assuming correct action is still taken), but I don't see a world in which potentially all Libera activities aren't suspended until the virus is on it's way out or the outlook drastically improves. The cancelling of social gatherings is seemingly becoming the norm, and Libera has always had its members' best interests in mind so I assume they will take all necessary precautions. Though the average healthy child may be at a low risk of becoming seriously ill, they can still contract and spread the virus to their families and others, so I'd imagine Album recordings will be similarly affected (especially assuming a lack of practice if weekly meets are cancelled).


The coming weeks should be pretty revealing, though currently everything is on a downtrend so unless some sort of vaccine (?) is developed or new information arises it's probably safe to assume we'll trend toward a similar state of self-quarantine as in Italy until it blows over.

[bachmahlerfan]

Unfortunately, I think England waited too long to take concrete action, and there are still more steps that need to be taken. London is not one of the cities I would want to be in during this outbreak. Libera may not be able to meet again for a long time because of this. Hopefully, they can record at a later date, perhaps in the summer (assuming they are planning an album). As for the Ely concert, I'm less hopeful for it happening than before, but I hope I'm wrong.

[LordG]

Tickets for Ely have been bought, but no flights have been booked yet.
There is still some hope Ely will take place but for now booking flights will have to wait.

[TullyBascombe]

This pandemic will not be over in a few weeks. Estimates I'm reading range from 6 months to 18 months. According to the BBC the plan in Britain is to institute restrictive measures for a limited time to try to reduce the impact on the healthcare system, then lift the restrictions for a period until the number of cases begins to rise, then reinstate the restrictions to put the breaks on the impact of the virus. The cycle will be repeated as needed.
Producing and testing a vaccine will take too long, there are some medications which are already on the market which have some promise for treating those afflicted by the virus.
Needless to say this makes planning for Libera events difficult.

[fan_de_LoK]

I guess 2020 will be a 'white year', meaning no performance at all.

[LordG]

I hope there will be a decision soon from Libera officials on how to proceed with the concert in early June.

On this decision I will make it dependent on how I proceed, whether I take the risk to book flights
and hotel or give the tickets back. A decision has to be made by the beginning of May at the latest.

[Surpinto]

The earliest I see a performance happening would be in Fall. Even if by some miracle the virus crisis resolves itself by June, the choir will likely not be in a position, in terms of rehearsals, to perform or travel for a number of months.

[Sjh]

Have ticket flights and hotel booked as long as libera do some sort of confirmation regarding the concert being cancelled rescheduled hopeful of being able to claim flights back from travel Insurance or reschedule date of flights. Concert ticket I would expect they will just carry over to a rescheduled concert at a later date, Hotel I can cancel at no cost up to 48hours before arrival.

Lets cross fingers it will go ahead as planed however unlikely it seems at the moment.

Steve.

[LordG]

Welcome to the Ely Cathedral Website
Because of the current COVID-19 pandemic the Cathedral is closed for the time being.

As we are seeing an increase in the number of people falling ill with COVID-19, we must all appreciate the necessity to comply with current regulations and distance ourselves from one another to prevent the spread of infection and save lives. It is for this reason that Ely Cathedral, along with all other Churches and Cathedrals in the UK, is closed for the time being for public worship, private prayer and all other meetings and activities.

We would like to assure you that although our building is closed, it will remain, as it has done for nearly 1000 years, a permanent sign of God's presence alongside us. The church will continue to be alive and active in supporting one another through this time and Cathedral clergy will carry on their pattern of daily prayer and worship but from their own homes. The Dean of York recently posted 'Stay safe, stay at home, save the NHS' - This is a good motto for us all to follow in all situations as far as we can.

You will see that our website provides information which we hope will be of use during this time, such as prayers, daily reflection, sermons, music by the Cathedral choristers and some film and images of the building. We have also set up an Ely Cathedral Community Support Group which you can join on Facebook or contact us by email: support@elycathedral.org. If you need to speak to someone as a matter of urgency, please call the Chapter House on 01353 667735 and we will get back to you.

We will continue to regularly engage with our global audiences and local community through our digital channels on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram so please do use the website and social media to stay in touch.

My prayers and good wishes to you all during this troubling time and we hope you, your families and your loved ones stay well.

https://www.elycathedral.org/

When you are looking at the event website, no events are displayed.
https://www.elycathedral.org/events

Only via https://libera.org.uk/event/ely-2020/ you are able to reach the Libera event website of the Cathedral ...

No good signs for the future...

[Sjh]

Just had confirmation from my hotel the Lamb they are now closed till the end of July, Libera need to say something about the concert not there fault but given a lot of fans travel and it is out of London not a great choice of accommodation can not find anything else as all are closed down and not taking booking at this moment.

I have travel insurance but need confirmation as things such as flights need to be cancelled and claims put in place. Not a large amount of money in the great scheme of things, are things going to be back to any wear near normal in 8-9 weeks time I think not.

I don't know about UK but at home churches and meeting places have been closed no large gatherings.

Regards Steve.