Launceston Choral Society sang its second concert since the beginning of the pandemic recently at Central Methodist Church.

Its Christmas concert raised exactly £300 for the work of the Salvation Army at its hostel in Devonport by way of the retiring collection despite the audience numbers being lower than usual because of COVID-19.

The choir sang a variety of carols ranging from Praetorius to Rutter under the direction of its musical director Jonathan Mann who also played the organ for a good number of congregational carols for the audience to sing with the choir. Liz Jones played the piano for those choir carols that were accompanied.

The carols were interspersed with seasonal readings by Diana Anderson, Dottie de Vries, Andy Dunning, Crispin King, Sue Tierney, Patricia Philp and Caroline Latham. As it was impossible to invite the audience to the school room as usual for a cup of tea and a mince pie, the choir gave a small gift of mince pies to each member of the audience as they left.

The choir is now looking forward to its next concert on April 2, COVID permitting, which will include Glorias by Vivaldi and Rutter. At present the choir is rehearsing on Monday evenings as usual but in the chapel instead of the church hall to provide better ventilation and a measure of social distancing. Singers either have to sing with specially designed singing masks provided by the society or show evidence of a negative lateral flow test taken on the day of the rehearsal or concert. New members are always welcome