Choir season approaches

We plan to kick off the fall term of a new choir season in just two weeks! We had hoped to begin with a normal schedule, but the current COVID surge is slowing progress down a bit.

One of the ways we are adjusting our plans is by having a single choral service at 10:00am on Sundays during the month of September. Our eight lay clerks will take charge of singing at these services, which will allow our choir groups to focus simply on rehearsing. We hope to move back to two choral services at 9:00am and 11:15am in October.

It has been several months since our choir folks last sang in service, and about 17 months since we had a “normal” rehearsal and service schedule! This means that folks’ voices will need to be warmed up and taught to work properly. Thankfully, a more relaxed introduction to singing will allow us to focus some time on this vocal strengthening, not just on learning repertoire.

Also, we will be utilizing recommended mitigation strategies to keep folks as safe as we can. These include limiting rehearsal times in a single indoor location, using multiple rehearsal spaces, distancing, and wearing masks throughout rehearsals.

That being said, we can’t eliminate every danger, so we are asking our choir members to assess their own risk tolerance and to make their own decisions regarding participation. Choir rehearsals will start live after the Labor Day weekend, and we will continue to monitor COVID infections as we move into the term.

If you or somebody you know would like to join a choir this fall, I encourage you to be in touch with me (justin.appel@stphilipstucson.org) or Jeffrey (jeffrey.campbell@stphilipstucson.org) in the weeks ahead!

Dr Justin Appel, Director of Music