Two Manchester-based professional opera singers have offered up their time, and their voices, in support of a small North West disability charity.
Aidan Edwards and Juliet Montgomery have partnered with Skiggle to perform a range of songs for the charity’s fundraising campaign, ‘Songs for Shielding’.
With an additional 1.7 million people in the UK this week being advised to shield until at least the end of March, the campaign aims to bring people closer to, and spread a little joy among isolated loved ones.
Trained baritone Aidan and/or trained soprano, Juliet will record personalised video messages and songs that can be sent to family and friends in return for a small donation to the charity, which comes to the aid of people within the disability community.
Both graduates from the Royal Northern College of Music, Aidan and Juliet have performed on stages all over the world including at the Notre Dame in Paris, alongside the Bulava Chorus in Kiev, and annually at the Edinburgh Festival.
The performing arts sector has been particularly hard hit by Covid with most touring and stage productions coming to an abrupt halt last March.
“We were on a flight to Austria to perform on a cruise with Theatrical Adventures when they closed the borders in mid-March. We had to land in Amsterdam and turn back round again and that was the contract cancelled.”
(Juliet Montgomery)
Like many others in the industry with live performances off the agenda, Aidan and Juliet have turned to new ways of working. Even their private music tuition has moved online via zoom.
“In normal times, we would be travelling around the North West and Yorkshire to teach but we’ve had to take that online. Initially the sound quality couldn’t quite get the nuances of singing, which was quite tricky, but the lessons have worked pretty much as normal. We’ve had a recent round of private exams and the students have done as well as projected across the board, so it’s definitely proven to be a really good substitute. It doesn’t replicate face to face singing but it’s brilliant that we’ve managed to find a way around it without impacting their progress.”
(Juliet Montgomery)
Already well versed in singing from the comfort of their own home, when approached by Skiggle co-founder, Helen Taylor, Aidan and Juliet leapt at the chance to support the charity’s fundraising campaign.
“We miss the live performances, there’s no replacement for them. But if we can use this time at home to introduce as many people as possible to music and song, then that’s wonderful for us and ‘Songs for Shielding’ is a such a positive, feel-good campaign. So far, it’s given us a chance to explore things we wouldn’t normally get to do – like singing Disney tunes and quirky numbers like ‘I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!’ That was a particular highlight for me and very different from the day job!”
(Juliet Montgomery)
The ‘Songs for Shielding’ songbook created by Aidan and Juliet in partnership with Skiggle features everything from classical tunes to Disney favourites and current chart hits. The duo’s version of the upbeat ‘Walking on Sunshine’ has even been shared on social media by Katrina from the original Katrina And The Waves fame.
“Disability or not, music is such a huge part of everyone’s world, and we’ve seen first-hand how it can brighten someone’s day. With the arts and entertainment industry really struggling at the moment, we felt this was a great way to shine a positive light on the industry whilst at the same time, giving something back to people in isolation. We really hope we can put a smile on someone’s face and help benefit those who need it most at the same time.”
(Helen Taylor, Skiggle co-founder)
Skiggle was founded in 2016 and became a registered charity in 2019. The innovative charity operates a unique emergency SOS alert system and runs an online marketplace and community where people across the UK can urgently access specialist disability equipment, care consumables, and other products.
To find out more about ‘Songs for Shielding’ and arrange a personalised performance click here.
