Fresh Choral Initiatives in Times of COVID

Last March, as choral organizations and ensembles gathered to prepare for their spring concerts, news of the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread. As the days progressed, rehearsals were canceled, concerts were postponed, then canceled. The effects on the choral community have been stark and profound, but with all the challenges, glimmers of hope and opportunity have appeared throughout the choral music industry.

“The impact on our organization was huge, from financial and cultural to programmatic and planning,” says Stephen Beaudoin, Executive Director of the Washington Chorus (TWC). Tori Cook, Director of Sales and Marketing for Chorus Connection, states, “Choral organizations had to cancel the remainder of their seasons, fundraisers, and all in-person meetings. The result has been a significant loss of revenue.” The Pacific Chorale, based in Orange County, California, canceled the remainder of the spring season, its crucial fundraiser, as well as programs with the Pacific Symphony. Andy Brown, Pacific Chorale President and CEO, expresses disappointment that “Until that point our ticket sales were looking fantastic for the year. We were ahead of goal until everything just stopped.”

But the impact was not only financial. Choral singing is a celebration of our common humanity as we gather together to sing, create art, and build community. Catherine Dehoney, President and CEO of Chorus America, offers a different perspective: “It feels personal. It’s as if the coronavirus was tailor-made to completely disrupt what choruses do — to get right at the heart of all that makes choruses special.”

As the pandemic started to unfold, arts organizations began to adapt and learn. “Immediately after canceling our summer season, we began developing online social and artistic resources for our singers,” states Steven Smith, BCI President. “For example, conductor Erin Freeman created a video warm up for us and just singing along for a few minutes helped reconnect me to that passion and the mental and physical benefits of singing.”

Maintaining connection and engagement with singers, audience and donors has become a crucial focus. The Washington Chorus established a number of live-streamed programs Including TWC TV, TWC Monday Events, listening parties, and town halls with singers to keep them motivated and connected. Stephen Beaudoin firmly believes that “We just can’t pack up our bags and say we’re not doing any live concerts, so we don’t exist as an entity. We need to do quite the opposite; we need to exist in ways that makes sense for people to experience right now, primarily online.” The Pacific Chorale’s online offerings have included happy hours — in lieu of rehearsal dates — as well as a series of games, including “Family Feud.” “It was a lot of fun,” muses Andy Brown. “We did it by section, sopranos versus altos, tenors versus basses.”

Although online programming can be entertaining and meaningful, there is a greater purpose. “Keeping the community ticking is so important and we want to keep everyone — singers,  supporters, and patrons — as close as possible.” In reaction to the George Floyd killing and the subsequent protests, the Pacific Chorale created a listening party at which its former conductor John Alexander and current artistic director, Rob Istad, featured a selection of works the chorus has performed over the years. “We talked about why some of these works are really important to the organization and why they are important to us as singers, choristers, and human beings,” states Andy Brown. “People stuck around for over two hours on Zoom just to just listen and talk a bit. It was a nice salve to what was going on in our country.”

With the many challenges cultural institutions have faced, there have been some upsides. Dehoney believes that “Arts organizations have been forced to look deep at their mission and how they connect and serve their singers and communities.“ Beaudoin adds, “The pandemic has impacted every part of our operation, not only in ways that are challenging and presenting difficulties, but frankly in ways that present opportunities.” Andy Brown agrees, saying “I think we’re going to see the effects of these changes stick around. A lot of this we wanted to do all along, so we’ve been forced to make that decision now.” Tori Cook says “We have to reframe how we make singing and connection happen right now. The solution is to stay connected digitally any way we can.”

Forging a path forward will be challenging for choral organizations, but opportunities abound. At the Chorus America annual conference held virtually last June, the organization and its members explored the future — short and long-term — of choral singing during times of COVID-19, as well as the importance of organizations embracing Black Lives Matter and social justice movements. Chorus Connection recently published an e-book titled “2020-2021 Season Planning Guide for Community Choruses.” Tori Cook states, “So many people from different communities had questions and ideas for what to do for the upcoming season that we wanted put all details in one document. It covers risk assessment and risk management.”

The Washington Chorus is planning for a virtual fall, including a 60th birthday bash in October and a candlelight Christmas in December, along with an Open Sing collaboration with BCI. Steven Smith looks forward to this partnership. “BCI has always brought together singers from all over. This time we get to experiment doing it virtually.” The Pacific Chorale hopes to build on its highly successful July 4 collaboration with the Pacific Symphony during which it offered a virtual, mosaic performance of “America the Beautiful.”

What does the future hold? Catherine Dehoney sees better days ahead: “It’s challenging but also invigorating to be working in this field right now. There is so much potential. It’s hard — sleep has become a thing of the past — but we can accomplish a great deal.” BCI’s Smith observed, “Singers are resilient by nature. We’ll make the best of it until the science says we can come back together in person. And when we do, we’ll sing with deeper humanity and gratitude.”