CALGARY -- What started as a way of relieving stress for a group of Calgary physicians has blossomed into the release of their first virtual project, a choral version of Fix You, by Coldplay.
Made up of 60 doctors from around the city, members of the Calgary Physicians Choir first got together in late April as a stress reliever during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were inspired by a similar physicians choir in Toronto and are being supported by the Youth Singers of Calgary, with director Kathryn Parrotta leading weekly, hour-long practice sessions on Zoom.
Parrotta said that at the beginning, no one knew what to expect because several of the physicians involved had never sang before.
"I actually never heard any of them sing before the final project because they were always on mute," she said.
The song performed, Fix You, was chosen because of its strong messages of resiliency and hope. "Fix You happened to be one of the songs that I wanted to do with them, and it resonated most with all of the ladies," said Parrotta.
A Facebook group was created, which allows the physicians to meet colleagues virtually and create friendships with doctors from across the city, which Parrotta said has helped boost morale.
"Most of them are mothers and just the idea that they could do something together that was safe and not part of any medical jargon, we never talk about that kind of thing, because they don't want that," said Parrotta.
"They just want to learn and relax, just be together as friends."
The group is planning another virtual eight-week production in the fall, and Parrotta is anticipating an even larger group.
"A lot of them have their colleagues that didn't know about this, and now that it's got off the ground a bit, they all want to join," she said.
Parrotta said that while the group currently only has women participating, men are welcome to join as well. The only requirement needed is to be a physician with a love for singing.
