A musical director has claimed that a generation of musicians may have been lost due to lockdowns.
Timothy Rhys-Evans who founded Only Boy’s Aloud said that lockdowns had left many afraid to sing again and that time away from performing will have adversely affected their voices.
According to the BBC:
Like so many things, choirs and music groups had to come to a sharp halt when lockdowns began.
Musical director Timothy Rhys-Evans said “concerted efforts” were needed to get singers back up to scratch as time away affected their voices.
He said young people needed to “get off TikTok” and perform together.
Now the director of music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), Mr Rhys-Evans said: “For these last two years singers, brass players, woodwind players have almost been public enemy number one.
“It’s something my whole musical life has been about, creating those opportunities for us to continue to sing as a nation and we were forbidden from doing that.
“So I have great concerns about the impact of that and what it will be like going back to rehearsal.
“The voice is a muscle and if you don’t use a muscle it loses its flexibility, its strength and also the confidence people have when they sing is not going to be there.
“I’m sure we will come through it, but it’s going to take some time.”
“I think the impact on mental health, particularly of teenagers who have not been able to socialise and discover who they are as musicians, but also discover who they are as people – is something we will be seeing the effects of for some years to come.”
Only Boys Aloud reached the final of Britain’s Got Talent in 2012, eventually finishing third.
