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thefriends@reading.ac.uk
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Hannah Cloke
Dear Friends of the University,
We would like to submit a project proposal for a grant from The Friends of the University.
We are a small vocal ensemble called The Dairy Project, partly affiliated with University of Reading Music (Music@Reading before), but functioning as an independent group mostly. Our 10 members are all former UoR Music Chamber Choir members, and include current students and staff, alumni and community members.
We formed during the first 2020 lockdown and have been producing virtual choir performances since, all of our videos can be viewed on our YouTube channel. We are extremely proud to have become an ensemble that managed to continue rehearsals and performances throughout the pandemic, even if just virtually, which had a tremendously positive effect on our mental health, and also provided many joyous moments for our audience. Uniquely, we were also able to include alumni/community members, who sadly had to be excluded from official UoR programmes due to COVID restrictions this academic year.
We are now seeking financial support in order to be able to continue with our music videos and various singing projects on the long term, either virtually, or planning for in-person programmes as restrictions hopefully continue to ease. We would like to purchase the following items:
7-8 audio recording devices/microphones: ~£1000
Most of our members use their normal mobile phone microphones for recording which cannot capture high quality sound, and therefore severely limits the final audio quality that we can currently achieve. With good audio recording devices we could get closer to studio sound quality.
1 high resolution camera and accessories: ~£1000
Similarly, we currently use our mobile phone cameras for video recording which is only sufficient for some performances. However, we have at least two big music video projects planned for this summer, potentially to be filmed in person (mainly outdoors, depending on COVID restrictions) which could immensely benefit from a more advanced camera, including accessories such as a tripod stand, etc., to help with filming.
Performance accessories: t-shirts, costumes, sheet music, etc. ~£500-1000
We would be keen to purchase customised t-shirts with our Dairy Project logo for all members, which could be used for both virtual and in-person performances. Furthermore, a budget for the aforementioned big summer music video projects would be also helpful and could allow us to buy costumes, wigs, makeup, etc., and take our performance to another level. Last but not least, we need to buy sheet music for our performances if a piece is not in the public domain.
We hope this project is eligible and look forward to hearing from you regarding your decision. Should you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best wishes,
Tunde Geher-Herczegh
Ensemble Leader, The Dairy Project
Prof Hannah Cloke OBE
University of Reading
Ensemble Member, The Dairy Project
Tunde Geher-Herczegh
PhD Research Student
Biomedical Engineering
University of Reading