Pandemic performanceThe Holiday Dinner marks the culmination of a semester’s worth of new practices in Choral Studies to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, efforts Copley said were a success not only because they allowed for continued in-person rehearsals, but also because no one in the department has yet to test positive for COVID-19. Singers are always masked and rehearse either outside or in large spaces such as Ardrey Auditorium to allow for more distancing than is possible in practice rooms. They meet for no more than 30 minutes at a time before either taking a break or moving to another space to clear the air. “It’s been difficult, but if it’s the choice between doing that or not making music at all, we’re definitely going to do whatever it takes to make music with my students,” Holder said. But even after these adjustments, the Holiday Dinner performance still felt strange for some students as they recorded various takes to capture their strongest possible performance.

Source: Daily Sun December 04, 2020 13:04 UTC