Bloomington Chamber Singers successfully brought live choral music back to our community last fall with two important events, October’s performances of Considering Matthew Shepard and December’s concert of music by Benjamin Britten. We were gratified by the support we got from our audiences, both in-person and via livestream. Even more significant, we were able to rehearse and perform together safely; no infections were reported after our fall schedule was completed.
A large and enthusiastic audience attended our performance of Benjamin Britten's Saint Nicolas cantata and A Ceremony of Carols at St.Mark's United Methodist Church last December.
After a well-earned holiday break, we looked forward to resuming rehearsals January 11. In the latest episode of the continuing saga that is the pandemic, the BCS board decided to pause in-person rehearsals for the time being. With Covid cases on the rise in Monroe County, the board decision is the practical response.
Our spring concert includes the Mozart Mass in C minor, Nänie by Johannes Brahms, and Serenade to Music by Ralph Vaughan Williams—an ambitious program. Will the delay put us behind schedule? Have no fear: technology has come to the rescue! Our music publisher, Carus-Verlag, has developed a browser-based coaching app (called “the Choir Coach”) that will enable us to study our choral parts for the Mozart work at home, giving us a head start when we resume in-person rehearsals a few weeks from now. Gerry Sousa, our Artistic Director, in consultation with board president Lisa Kurz, has decided to make this service available at no charge to BCS singers.
The board will continue to monitor the situation, and safety will be our primary focus going forward. All singers are required to be vaccinated and boosted, and we will use N95 or KN95 masks rather than cloth masks for rehearsals when we resume.
We will keep in touch via social media as plans for our spring concert progress. Meanwhile, mark your calendar for Saturday, April 23 at 7:30 pm, when Maestro Sousa will give the downbeat in the sanctuary of Christ Community Church, 503 S. High Street, Bloomington.
