Raising the nation’s spirits through nature, immersion and song
2020 first edition: prototype open to the public
Throughout history, humans have turned to song as a way of lifting their spirits in times of challenge. Lost In Song invites you on a joyful choral immersion to experience exactly this – in a time when we need it most.
This 360 video experience is designed for internet-connected PCs and laptops. 360 video allows you to see all around you in 360 degrees, using your keyboard to navigate.
Join us in singing well-loved songs in scenery inspired by the beautiful British countryside and coast, with warm and welcoming members of one of the UK’s leading choirs, Ex Cathedra.
Lost in Song is made by Limina Immersive, with Ex Cathedra and NHS Arden & GEM CSU. This project is at public prototype phase and has been made possible through the support of Innovate UK.
Choose a song
Lost in Song’s 2020 edition is brought to you by:
Finding a peaceful and calm place in your home to experience Lost in Song can make a big difference to how immersed you feel. We recommend taking a few moments to set up your space before you begin. So, what makes a good space for singing and immersion?
- Separate from other people, unless they are singing too
- Physically comfortable, without very bright lights
- Enough time where you do not feel rushed
- In a place with good, steady internet connection on your laptop or PC
As well as these basics you might want to try experimenting with lighting, cushions, blankets, scents or a hot drink to create a cosy 'sanctuary' feeling. It’s your choice: we want this experience to feel relaxing and enjoyable, exactly as it needs to be for you. Once you’ve found the perfect spot / place, please choose a song to start your experience.
With thanks to our funder, Innovate UK who have made this prototype possible
Lost in Song’s 2020 first edition was created with love by…
Consulting executive producers
Jeffrey Skidmore OBE, Ex Cathedra
Peter Trethewey, Ex Cathedra
Anne O’Leary, NHS Arden & GEM
Limina Immersive
Catherine Allen – Limina CEO and Lost in Song co-director/executive producer
Steven Lake – Co-director/producer
Shona Sandhagen – Project manager
Emma Hughes – Audience engagement lead
Piers Elliot – Web designer & developer
Flavia Mayer – Illustrator
Julia Krysiak – Writer
The Airborne Lens Company
Format developed by
John Cromie
Catherine Allen
Chris Sizemore
Ex Cathedra
Jeffrey Skidmore OBE, Artistic director & conductor
Peter Trethewey, General manager
Performers
Soprano: Elizabeth Adams, Marianne Ayling, Frances Brindley, Ros Crouch, Rosy Heneghan, Gemma King, Joy Krishnamoorthy, Margaret Lingas, Rebecca Mills, Megan Rickard, Imogen Russell, Myriam Smith, Rachel Snape, Katie Trethewey, Helen Vincent
Alto: Sacha Fullerton, Rebecca Lloyd, Martha McLorinan, Catherine Perfect, Katy Raines-Rami, Gabriella Liandu, Kate Thatcher
Tenor: Paul Bentley-Angell, Tim Burton, Steve Davis, Nick Drew, Jacob Ewens, Sidharth Prabhu-Naik, Jeremy Reid, James Robinson, Iain Sloan, Ash Turnell
Bass: Robert Asher, John Cotterill, Richard Green, Tom Lowen, Themba Mvula, William Peart, Bill Robinson, David Smith, Jeff Sutherland-Kay, Lawrence White
Alexander Mason, organ (Jerusalem, Earthrise)
Debipriya Sircar, Indian classical singer (Jerusalem)
Simone Rebello, percussion (Stand by me, Skye Boat Song)
Robert Challinor, piano (Stand by me)
Warm up leaders: Martha McLorinan, Themba Mvula, James Robinson, Katie Trethewey, Lawrence White
NHS Arden & Gem
Anne O’Leary
Elise Barker
——
With thanks to
Limina VR Theatre audience members 2017-2020
The Limina team 2016 – 2020
Helga Henry
Hollie Page
Sarah Levitt Allen
Julian Allen
John Gore
Harriet Gore
Alex Rogers
Leni Elliot
Founded in 1969 by Jeffrey Skidmore, Ex Cathedra is a leading UK choir and Early Music ensemble. It is a unique musical resource, comprising specialist chamber choir, vocal Consort, period-instrument orchestra and a thriving education programme. From its home in Birmingham, it aims to explore, research and commission the finest choral music and to set the highest standards for excellence in performance and training.
The group presents a series of concerts in Birmingham, where it is a resident ensemble at Town Hall & Symphony Hall, across the Midlands, and in London. It receives invitations to appear at festivals and concert series across the UK and abroad, and has performed as far afield as New York and Tel Aviv.
Ex Cathedra has made a significant number of highly regarded recordings for ASV, Hyperion, NMC, Orchid Classics, SOMM, Signum, and on its own label. Its most recent releases are a CDs of choral music by Roxanna Panufnik Celestial Bird, featuring two Ex Cathedra commissions, and From Five Continents a CD of music by Penelope Thwaites.
An extensive programme of award-winning schools, health and community projects is delivered by Ex Cathedra’s team of expert Vocal Tutors. Ex Cathedra has worked with over 900 primary schools across the UK and in Belgium, China, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand. Its Singing Medicine project reaches children bedside on every ward every week at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Singing Pathways provides a weekly group session with adult stroke and dementia patients.
Ex Cathedra is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation (the only professional choir on the portfolio) and receives funding from Birmingham City Council.
About Jeffrey Skidmore OBE
Jeffrey Skidmore is one of the country’s foremost choral conductors and is highly regarded by instrumentalists, singers and audiences for the high quality of his performances. He is well-known for exciting programming which is often challenging but always accessible. Jeffrey read music at Magdalen College, Oxford, and returned to his native Birmingham to develop Ex Cathedra into the internationally-acclaimed choral group it has become today.
Skidmore is a pioneer in the field of research and performance of choral works of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, both in the old and new worlds, and has won wide acclaim for his recordings of French and Latin American Baroque music with Ex Cathedra. An Honorary Fellow at Birmingham Conservatoire and a Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, he has prepared new performing editions of works by Araujo, Charpentier, Lalande, Monteverdi and Rameau, amongst others.
With Ex Cathedra, Skidmore has commissioned more than thirty new works and conducted many world premieres by composers including Sally Beamish, Fyfe Hutchins, Gabriel Jackson, Liz Dilnot Johnson, John Joubert, James MacMillan, Roxanna Panufnik, Alec Roth, Daryl Runswick, Peter Sculthorpe, Philip Shepherd, Peter Wiegold, Roderick Williams and Stevie Wishart.
He has conducted a number of other groups including Aalborg Sinfoniorkester, the BBC Singers, Irish Baroque Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In 2019, Skidmore directed Nederlands Kamerkoor in a performance of Stockhausen’s World Parliament as part of the ‘aus LICHT’ project co-produced by Holland Festival, the Dutch National Opera, Royal Conservatoire Den Haag and the Stockhausen Foundation for Music.
This public-facing prototype of Lost in Song was made during the first lockdown of 2020, and released in the second lockdown. We made it under COVID-19 working restrictions, which was a challenge, but just about doable! Because of these restrictions, there are a few shots in the 360 films that alas are not from the UK – they were filmed by 360 videographers who are based overseas. The vast majority of the footage, however is British, and filmed by various local teams, true to our original goal of celebrating the British countryside and coast. We hope the spirit of British landscape still feels core to the experience.
We’ve made this experience for people who are stuck at home due to the pandemic or other reasons. Although it is still a prototype, we decided to launch it at this stage due to urgent public need. It feels like we could all do with a boost this winter.
By taking part in our prototype, you are helping us develop it for the next stage – we really appreciate your involvement.
Happy singing!