Sing along with Zurich

During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, about 50 Zurich employees, some enlisting their families, performed an original composition, entitled The Zuricher Song, in virtual harmony. Virtually, never meeting up. While most people, if they sang at all, were singing the COVID-19 blues, Zurich employees worldwide, always up for a challenge, quickly decided: “We can do better.”

The hit tune got its start with a single voice, that of Anna Lino, based in São Paulo. An innovation analyst at Zurich, and an indefatigable optimist, she calls it “a story about how one person can generate global impact – a truly international story about being united to keep each other strong during challenging times.”

Anna wrote the song about ‘Zurichers’ (Zurich’s some 55,000 employees worldwide) after her father mentioned a virtual choir performance he’d seen on the internet. Anna had written compositions and performs as a musician, and this seemed like a good opportunity. Inspired by Queen Elizabeth II’s speech to her subjects in April 2020, Anna wanted to remind others that “better days will return.” She recorded her song, accompanying herself on a ukulele, and posted it to Zurich’s internal social media site. It quickly drew the attention of many. Thousands, in fact. Within a week more than 10,000 Zurich employees had viewed her post. And, Zurich employees all over the world began to join in.

In Brazil, Marcelo Queiroz, IT Systems manager, was the first to build the harmonic base, and taught Anna how to create a drum set on an app so she could record in the right tempo that would work for other musicians. Together, they designed an audio version that allowed other musicians to join in, making it possible for each to know where to insert their solos.

In Spain, Julio Moreno Serrano, a Zurich underwriter, began to try out his new electronic mixer on his computer. Emma Barnes, a project manager working for Zurich in the UK, provided a soulful flute solo. Equally amazing, Emma had joined Zurich only in April 2020, and due to COVID-19, and had met her new colleagues at Zurich only virtually. “Getting involved with this project really helped me personally to feel involved, engaged and enthusiastic about working for this great company,” she says.

In the Isle of Man, Alan Presford, a Zurich IT security manager, recorded a bass line. In the U.S. Joe Sachs, a network content manager, played his alto saxophone. Paulina Rodriguez, talent manager in Mexico, enriched the instrumentals with guitar solos and playing her drum set, while in Chile, Fanny Olate, a Zurich receptionist, played a guitar and sang. Idevar Goncalves De Souza Junior, a systems manager in Brazil, brought a classical dimension to the arrangement with a violin. In Indonesia, Riko Ariyanto, a Zurich IT development architect, created an electronic version of the song, which played at the end of the video.

Many, many more joined in, too many to mention here. Some did so in unusual ways. Paul Dolan, a senior business analyst for Zurich in Ireland, who began to learn the sign language when the COVID-19 pandemic started, signed to the lyrics. He had begun learning sign language to communicate with his non-verbal son and soon found that signing got a more joyful response when done to music. Signing and singing, he started with Old Macdonald’s farm animals, then graduated to some current chart hits, and ultimately, the Zurich song, even making up a large ‘Z’ in the air for the Zurich sign. His son was thrilled, so was Paul. “I was humbled by the amazing outcome,” Paul says, calling the project “really emotional and inspirational.”

Also joining in was Harumi Holly Wheeler-Kasai, an executive assistant at Zurich in Switzerland, who plays ukulele and performs hula in the video, studies Hawaiian culture and dances with a traditional hula group in her spare time. Even after working many years at Zurich, taking part in the project gave her a real sense of being a member of a virtual, global team, saying, “I have never felt the Zurich global community was so close and strong.”

Across Zurich, many others contributed their time and energy, including those who built a platform to allow the music to come together. Thousands more viewed it. Ultimately the Zuricher Song gained more than 50,000 views on Zurich’s external social media channels and was even featured in Brazilian magazines.

What’s next? The Spanish version of the Zuricher song is coming up after Ignacio Gaona, a life consultant for Zurich Spain, translated the song and is starting to gather Spanish speaker singers to join. Other language versions are likely to follow. So, if you feel like singing the blues, consider what Anna says: “One person can have a global impact, and truly make a real difference.” Start singing, playing, humming along. Sign, hula, clap. You never know, you might even start a band and make a whole lot of people happy.