Watch the highly-anticipated launch of Sydney Catholic Schools’ first Virtual Choir, featuring 260 students, staff and alumni including CaSPA talent Gabryl Jamisola.
The virtual choir video clip shows 260 Sydney Catholic School students from Kindergarten to Year 12, staff, teachers, parents and alumni singing Christian hymn ‘For the Beauty of the Earth’ by John Rutter in unison online.
In a video interview held as part of the official launch, Year 8 CaSPA student Gabryl Jamisola explained his reasons for wanting to be involved in this unique opportunity to Sydney Catholic Schools’ creative and performing arts specialist, Eva Spata.
“Honestly, having wonderful experiences with CaSPA it made me want to try something different,” Gabryl said.
“CaSPA has an awesome saying, ‘Singing is to be shared’” – Gabryl
“Singing is a thing I want to share with people and create memories with them,” Gabryl said.
While some choristers recorded themselves on their mobile phones, Gabryl opted to record his contribution to the Virtual Choir under strict COVID-19 guidelines in the professional recording studio at Southern Cross Catholic College Burwood, where his CaSPA lessons are held.
“We recorded my parts at the studio,” Gabryl said. “Then we moved over to the green screen room to record me singing but with no audio.”
Ms Spata said Sydney Catholic school students are “so lucky” to have access to professional recording facilities like these.
“It must have been funny singing in the green screen room with no audio,” she told Gabryl, adding “How did that work?”
“Well, they were holding up the lyrics for me behind the camera and it was just really awkward and we had to try not to laugh,” Gabryl said.
Gabryl said the lyrics to ‘For the Beauty of the Earth’ held special meaning.
“It really just sends a message of being eco-friendly and taking care of God’s creation and we, as God’s creation, should appreciate it (the earth) and take care of it,” he said.
A SMALL PIECE OF HEAVEN
Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher OP, said the virtual choir’s work was “a hymn of beauty amid isolation and anxiety.”
“Theologian C.S. Lewis once said: ‘In heaven everything is either silence or music’,” His Grace said.
“Our virtual choir has given us a small piece of heaven.”