COVID-19

Silver Linings: Reflecting on What We Do for Our Singers

May 18, 2021 by From Our Readers Leave a Comment

By Jeanne Wohlgumuth

Finding a silver lining in a year that has been riddled with disappointments and life-changing events would seems to be daunting and virtually impossible. However, when given the opportunity to reflect on the past year, I find that there are many silver linings that have emerged from a somewhat horrendous situation.

Silver Lining #1 – In-Person Rehearsals/No COVID Transmission

New World Singers, the elite performing ensemble of the Columbus Children’s Choir (CCC), has been holding in-person rehearsals since September. There were many changes that had to occur to make this possible. These included smaller ensemble sizes, 6 ft. social distancing, opening all windows and doors (yes, even during the cold Ohio winter), turning off the HVAC system, purchasing Conway CADR HEPA Air Purifiers for each rehearsal room, taking temperatures and wearing masks, changing rehearsal rooms after 30 minutes, and fogging rehearsal room with isopropyl alcohol and letting them sit empty for 20-30 minutes.

While at first these changes felt very confining and restrictive the benefits have been innumerable. Most importantly, our organization has had NO transmission of COVID within our ensembles. We have now welcomed back all five of our ensembles and continue to maintain no COVID spread!

Silver Lining #2 – Musicianship

One of the biggest silver linings has been the opportunity for our singers to grow as strong, independent musicians. We have always made musicianship and literacy a major component of our choral program, but this year we have been able to closely monitor the growth and development of each singer, giving more time for individual assessment and immediate and transformational feedback. An increase in musicianship has likely helped to foster other outcomes including confidence which is highlighted in the next segment.

Silver Lining #3 – Confidence

From a singer’s perspective: This new arrangement has placed “more responsibility on my part in the ensemble because it comprises fewer people than in the whole choir—more ownership! Not many people I can rely on now, so I have to be stronger as a singer.” – Deanna

Silver Lining #4 – Commitment

While the majority of our singers (78 out of 86 singers) attend in-person rehearsal, there are some singers who, because of health issues, chose to attend rehearsal via zoom. These singers have pledged their commitment to their ensemble. They take their role in the ensemble seriously, always finding a quiet place in their home where they can fully engage in the rehearsal.

From a parent’s perspective: This serves as “a reminder of why my children are in CCC. Not for the uniforms. Not for the performances (although we do miss them). Not for the trips (although the disappointment still stings). They are CCC singers because they love to make music. They love to sing. They love to be surrounded by others who love to sing. Strip everything else away. They show up to sing.” – Molly

Silver Lining #5 – Few to no missed rehearsals

The use of Zoom has made absences from rehearsal virtually disappear. It has provided a way for singers who are ill to still be present during rehearsals. Singers who are traveling log on and participate from their cars, hotel rooms, parks, and so on.

Silver Lining #6 – Camaraderie/Relationships

Because of our smaller ensembles, singers have built relationships and a deeper esprit de corps. They have become more familiar with other members of the ensemble whom they might not have known very well. Their friend “bubble” has grown to include everyone in their ensemble.

From a singer’s perspective: “Since there are fewer people in each ensemble, we talk to everyone and we have become a lot closer. In the full choir everyone had their established friends and would not talk much to those outside of their circle.” – Izzy

Silver Lining #7 – Everyone Matters

It is hard for singers to imagine that 1 voice in a choir of 86 singers matters. In our smaller ensembles the singers are realizing the importance of every voice. They are realizing that a missing voice creates a different sounding ensemble. A singer who does not listen and strive to match unified vowels creates difficulty in tuning, and a lack of focus or concentration creates a frustrating and unproductive rehearsal for all.

In closing, I would like to highlight two poignant comments, the first from a singer and the second from a parent.

“This choir has taught me that even through tough times, music is the uniting force that uplifts the world. It definitely uplifts my mood with every rehearsal.” – Rhea

“We know that music has the power to heal, and I believe the students really got to experience that in depth this year through Columbus Children’s Choir. While so many students struggled being out of school or being in school only part time most of the year, thanks to your hard work our singers were still able to join together to create beautiful music. Although choir looked a bit different this year, it has allowed some sense of normalcy. The choir has provided something for the singers to look forward to every week. The rehearsals have allowed the children time to take a break from the bleakness of the past year; while in rehearsal their focus is solely on making music, allowing an escape from any depression or stress caused by the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. It has been a wonderful time for them to feel free, alive, and productive. I am confident that the Columbus Children’s Choir has saved more than one life this year.” – Annette

While we all look to a future where we can freely sing, rehearse, and perform again, it is important to not dwell on the negative, but try and find the “silver lining” in all that we do for our singers. The Columbus Children’s Choir will continue to sing . . . we will continue to share our human spirit through our voices and our music as it is vitally important to our society and to the well-being of humanity.

Throughout her forty-year career, Jeanne Wohlgamuth has been a tireless advocate for children at all levels from kindergarten through collegiate. She recently retired from Dublin Jerome High School as Director of Choirs and Performing Arts Chair and currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Columbus Children’s Choir where she oversees the artistic vision of the organization and directs New World Singers, the top performing ensemble, and Una Voce. She was just elected president-elect of the Ohio Choral Directors Association.

2020-2021: The Year That Was Not Lost

May 12, 2021 by From Our Readers Leave a Comment

By William O. Baker

On a December Friday evening in Basehor, Kansas, as the sounds of organ, bells, choir, and audience rose in the ancient carol, O Come All Ye Faithful, there was another sound, an outpouring of sobs from the gathered, but masked and distanced assembly.

The year was 2020. The occasion was the annual candlelight and carols concert of The William Baker Festival Singers. To accommodate strict COVID safety protocols, performing singers were masked and distanced six feet apart. The processional carol did not come through the audience, rather singers entered from the sides. Instrumentalists performed behind a clear plexiglass screen. The audience was limited to 25% capacity of the church nave, also masked and distanced between family units.

Still, on the week before Christmas in a year of terrible fear and loss, the story of hope and joy was told in the singing of carols punctuated by narrations and interspersed by timeless choral classics, just as it has been done since the first Festival Singers candlelight concert in Atlanta in 1985.

The year that has just passed has been the most devastating in my career of over four decades. Most choral groups have been forced to remain silent, either by government dictates or by the unavailability of rehearsal and concert venues. I’ve shared many conversations with colleagues who would have continued their work, but the decision was taken out of their hands. There are many others, considering the age of members and sensitive to the concerns of their particular community, who made the difficult decision to suspend activities.

The Choral Foundation has sponsored The New South Festival Singers in Atlanta since 1985, and The William Baker Festival Singers in Kansas City since 1998. When shutdowns were announced in March 2020, our organization suspended rehearsals and canceled remaining March-May concerts. It was heartbreaking.

In early June, with the full support of our board of trustees and in consultation with our board of advisors, the Choral Foundation staff held a retreat to consider the direction we would take. As a part of the retreat we involved health professionals that participate in our ensembles.

The result of our conversation was a commitment to resume rehearsals and in-person performances as quickly and as safely as possible. Considering the emotional and spiritual devastation of shutdowns, isolation, and broken relationships, we affirmed that the work of artists and musicians, particularly choral musicians was as essential to the pandemic of soul and spirit as the work of responders and researchers is essential to the pandemic of the virus.

As much as we admire and champion the creative work of colleagues who have turned to technology, we made the decision to invest our funds and energies to find ways to continue live music making before in-person audiences. Our belief then, as now, is that COVID-19 is a serious crisis, but a temporary crisis.

We began holding “window concerts” in June. Five singers were positioned in the five upstairs windows of our offices in Roeland Park, Kansas. The singers were separated by 9 feet and three tall filing cabinets. The audience gathered in lawn chairs in the parking lot below throughout the summer to hear the weekly Sunday evening concerts. As the word spread in the community, more and more listeners gathered each week. The desire for live music was so strong that several dozen listeners sat in the pouring rain to hear one of the window concerts. “The Festival Singers will not be silenced!” became a rallying cry for the window concerts that is shouted even today at the end of every rehearsal.

Regular weekly rehearsals began in the fall in both Atlanta and Kansas City by our auditioned Festival Singers ensembles. Masks were worn by all singers, and 6+ foot spacing was strictly observed. Industrial fans ventilated rehearsal spaces, and we were careful not to remain in any one space longer than 45 minutes. Some rehearsals were held outside as weather permitted.

Public performances began in November as the Festival Singers in Kansas City performed works from Hildegard von Bingen to Brahms to new compositions by our resident composers. In the course of the 2020-21 season, the Choral Foundation will have performed a dozen public concerts in our constituent cities, premiered five new works, produced and released two new CD recordings, and brought hope to hundreds of listeners.

In March, The William Baker Festival Singers & Chamber Orchestra performed a masterworks concert featuring John Rutter’s Requiem, a work that spoke comfort to many who had experienced fear and loss due to the pandemic. https://youtu.be/XvI9Xc71t_A

In late April, The New South Festival Singers & Chamber Orchestra performed cantatas of Dietrich Buxtehude and J. S. Bach.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a horrific experience for all of us in the field of choral music. It is my prayer that none of us will ever again experience an event like this. I also pray that the world of choral music will boldly and courageously return to full activities for the summer of 2021 and for the 2021-22 season. Most of all, I pray that choral music will never be taken for granted and will never be silenced again.

The Choral Foundation has two remaining concert performances to culminate this unusual season. If you are close to Kansas City or Atlanta, we humbly invite you to join us and celebrate with us:

Sunday, May 2, 3:00 CDT
The William Baker Festival Singers
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Kansas City, MO
Premiers of new works by Sean Sweeden, Ed Frazier Davis, Samuel Wu and Daniel Sabgzhabaei
Classical Works by Hildegard von Bingen, Johannes Brahms and William Byrd
Early American Hymns & Spirituals, and Gospel Selections

Sunday, May 23, 3:00 EDT
The New South Festival Singers
St. John United Methodist Church, Atlanta, GA
Classical Works of Claudio Monteverdi, F. Melius Christiansen, Kenneth Jennings

Conductor, author, and entrepreneur, William O. Baker is an Atlanta native who has called Kansas City home for over 20 years. Though a church musician for over four decades, Dr. Baker is best known as the founder and director of the semi-professional William Baker Festival Singers. He is also the head of the Choral Foundation (www.ChoralFoundation.org), which has created over a dozen choral ensembles in three states in addition to a broad range of continuing education programs.

Silver Linings: Three Snapshots from the Past Year

April 21, 2021 by ACDA Leave a Comment

By Carol Earnhardt

Virtual Rehearsals, Concert, and After Party

Last August, in 2020, the board members of my community choir, the Heart of Triad Choral Society (Kernersville, North Carolina), looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I wanted to have weekly rehearsals on Zoom and give a live “virtual” concert in December. But, we did it! We met once a week, rehearsed some great music, played many games, and laughed . . . a LOT. We were joined by new members from Texas, Florida, and Canada! It was the coolest thing to have singers from outside our little North Carolina town join us each week for rehearsals – something that would not have happened had we been in person.

On a December night, we all watched the concert together on a Zoom webinar application and on Facebook live. At last count, the concert has been seen by nearly 4,000 people – with many audience members from outside the United States. We’ve NEVER had an audience that large. We had an after-party on Zoom following the performance – a great idea! We drank wine, sang Christmas carols, told jokes, and bragged about the concert. Comments made at that party, emails I received the entire month of December, and cards that were sent in the mail confirmed what I knew all along – the concert was wonderful . . . but it was the weekly rehearsals that brought great light to a time of deep darkness.

Choral Lifelines Continue to Be Important

Last week, I had an hour-long conversation with one of my choir students – a senior who was failing multiple classes and had completely stopped attending classes on Zoom. “Lillie” had been my student since she was a freshman. She was a bright, energetic, friendly girl . . . before COVID. I made a phone call to her that day to find out what was going on with her since I had not seen her in two weeks.

This was not the first time I had called her this year about her sporadic attendance, but I was extremely concerned this time because of her failing grades in classes she needed to graduate. “Lillie” poured her heart out to me. She was depressed. In our conversation, she told me that I was the only adult with whom she could be honest. By the end of the conversation, we had a plan to help her catch up in her required classes, and I am happy to say that she is back on the path to graduate in June. The relationships we build with our choir members through music are strong. These relationships have been critical in helping students adjust to their new reality and in keeping them engaged in learning.

A Virtual Coffee House for Students and Parents

We all have tried to make this year semi-normal for our students. In September, the arts department at my school held our first “virtual” coffee house. Students were assigned a theme based on one of the tenets of social-emotional learning. Some themes included “To Walk in Another Person’s Shoes,” “Who I Am,” and “A Year in Reflection: Lessons I’ve Learned in Quarantine.” Visual art, dance, theater, band, and chorus students recorded performances based on the theme of the month – many of the students created original works for their performance. Once a month, all the students and parents would gather on Zoom to enjoy the performances and socialize over a cup of coffee (or cocoa). The monthly departmental meetings have been a hit. This idea is a “silver lining” tradition that we will continue long after the pandemic is over.

Carol Earnhardt has been the director of choral activities at Robert B. Glenn High School since 1998 and has served as the artistic director for the Heart of the Triad Choral Society, a community choir in Kernersville, North Carolina, since 2016.

Silver Linings: Resilience and New Beginnings

April 14, 2021 by ACDA Leave a Comment

By Marc Taylor

This past year has been difficult for most everybody in one way or another. For music teachers it has been quite challenging. For families that have lost loved ones it has been devastating.

Personally, I haven’t had a desire to dwell on or rehash the negative aspects of this period of time. I do feel that it is critical that we acknowledge and process those difficulties, challenges, and devastations that we’ve experienced; they hold a very special place in our heart and being. However, deciding what we are going to do with those experiences in moving forward is even more important. These are the things that make or break us; that mold us into what we will be. And we have a choice in how we respond and who we become.

I have actually been very fortunate during the pandemic. Yes, my concert was cancelled the day before it was supposed to happen, my tour to NYC was cancelled, and we went to virtual learning like everyone else. My students struggled to make sense of things and all seniors were sorely disappointed in missing out on all the traditional celebrations and ceremonies. There were a few that became depressed and despondent but most finally came to a place of acceptance and began to make the best of it with faith and hope in the future. And that is where the magic began.

We are all dealt a hand of cards and our success comes in how we deal with them. Most of these students found a new beginning through the acceptance of what was to them a new “hand of cards.” They found ways to be innovative, to be happy, to enjoy life, and to love each other in spite of the restrictions and hardships. I hope that in some way I was an inspiration to them whether through teaching or by example. As someone who four years ago experienced Stage IV cancer that metastasized to the liver (and the medical journey that went with it where my life was in the balance) I know something of devastation, acceptance, making the best of it, and moving forward with hope and faith. That was a new beginning for me then, and now every time that I return from a clean CT scan I experience other little new beginnings along the way.

So, together, my students and I came up with new ways of learning, making music, collaborating, and enriching each other’s lives. We have found common goals on which to focus that kept us grounded in learning and improving both in knowledge and performance. We were very fortunate in my state to be able to resume in-person learning this school year with limited public performance (albeit distanced with all the protocols in place). Gratitude for what we were able to do and not focusing on what we couldn’t do was also a major factor in shaping the attitudes and outlook of my students. The wonderful thing about the trials that we face in life is that the resilience we exhibit allows us to experience these new beginnings. In order for us to be victorious and experience growth we must not allow ourselves to succumb to darkness and negativity.

And now one year later, having had the resilience to see this whole experience through – with conviction and determination – we now see the light at the end of the tunnel. And truly another new beginning is happening as the season of spring is upon us, the vaccines are rolling out, cases are trending down, restrictions are starting to ease, and we have just had our ACDA national conference where we have all shared our minds, voices, and souls together in unity, diversity, and inclusion. We now look forward to the future together. And it is this collective thought and action in which we love and support one another that will see us through and where we will embark on our next New Beginning.

Marc Taylor is the choral director at Copper Hills High School in West Jordan, Utah.

Silver Linings: Commitment and Engagement

March 31, 2021 by ACDA Leave a Comment

By David L. Mennicke

At Concordia University, St. Paul, we’ve been fortunate to have been able to meet face-to-face, with distancing, masks, and 30-minute rehearsal times. This has led us to working on less literature and more focus on skill-building. Unable to do live concerts, we’ve engaged in sharing recorded videos of our music. The “silver linings” have been manifold:

Growth in musical/vocal independence
With greater distancing of singers, I and the singers can distinguish individuals who are singing well, or who need assistance
That distancing, and doing less literature, has led us to greater attention on details, with each singer becoming more aware of and owning of their own performance
Putting out our concerts on video has reached a greater (and very appreciative) audience
We’ve learned and made use of technological teaching aids that we didn’t access before the pandemic (including guest clinicians and collaborations at a distance)

Perhaps the greatest “silver lining” has been the palpable increase in singers’ level of commitment and engagement in our choral community. The glamorous aspects (concerts, tour) were taken away from us, but what remains—making music together in community—is more than enough. Learning and embracing the intrinsic value of our precious art is a wonderful gift that will carry us into the future.

Dr. David L. Mennicke is Professor of Music / Director of Choral Studies and Coordinator of Ensembles & Recruitment/Chapel Cantor at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Silver Linings: Giving Grace, Growing Closer, and Building Trust

March 24, 2021 by ACDA Leave a Comment

By Hilary Morton

Everyone has had a hard year. I think choral directors might have had it a bit worse. We will be dealing with the fallout from this pandemic for the next few years at least, rebuilding our programs from the ground up. We haven’t been teaching “choir” as we have known it to be for our entire professional lives. We have made up our curriculum weekly to keep our students engaged, check on their emotional well-being and maybe learn musical skills along the way if we are lucky. For me personally, technology has never been my friend. I’ve learned more this year than any other year in my 18 years of teaching. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve had to teach myself some skills to share with my students, and I’ve celebrated each success along the way.

There are positives from this that I will incorporate into my teaching forever. I have given more grace than I ever thought possible. And because of this, I feel I have grown closer to many of my students. There is a different level of trust and respect that I hope to maintain. Without the stress of upcoming performances, there has been more time to check on their individual skill level, mental state, and their understanding of concepts. In a large group, students can hide. Every music director has lost members of their ensembles this year, but kids come to choir for different reasons. Some love to sing. Some are gifted at reading. Some love to be with their friends. Some love to be part of something bigger than themselves. Some were forced by parents.

We all know those students who barely produce sound, or badly need a confident singer behind them or beside them to get through. With students working individually, they are completely on their own. This is the opposite reason many students enroll in choir. It’s a very social place, and some students are uncomfortable singing alone. I have gradually made easy assignments where they sing by themselves. They turn in (well, let’s be honest, MOST turn in) weekly sight reading factory assignments. I can manipulate the criteria each week (change time signature, key signature, mode, etc.) but I always let them choose their level of difficulty. Each of our students is in a different place among their musical journey, so let’s accommodate for them and accept this fact. I give them full points for just turning in the assignment and starting on the correct first note. Accuracy is not important. I am astonished at what I heard. Once they jump over the hurdle of not being scared of the fact that their teacher is listening to them, this is a magnificent tool of gauging where your students are vocally, and musically. I can more quickly diagnose vocal faults, shifts, and how they are doing with their musical literacy. I will continue to use this weekly for the rest of my career. It makes it so much easier to quickly make decisions in a live rehearsal based on what you hear from them individually each week. Sadly, I never did this before. I wanted kids to not feel the pressure, and frankly, didn’t think I had the time. I think this is a valuable tool and I feel it has brought new confidence out in many of my singers.

I also think my professional ideals have shifted in this pandemic journey. What is most important? Teaching music or teaching children? I am currently thankful for every student who has stayed in choir and I will continue to focus on what’s important, like why I love music and why they love music. I don’t know if I will take choirs to competitions next year. Right now, that’s the least important aspect to this art. And maybe we will all re-evaluate what is most important to our programs. Right now, it’s the people who come into my room, or onto my laptop each day. I don’t know when we will sing the caliber of literature I’m accustomed to teaching, and right now, I just don’t care. It’s about so much more than that.

Hilary Morton is Director of Choirs at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park, Kansas.