Madi Belo ‘21
Here are some things you’ll hear if you venture past the choir room during C Block:
boisterous laughter, rhythmic bouts of enthusiastic clapping (more formally known as sight reading), exceptionally put together virtual choir videos created by the dedicated Mr. Jim Erwin that have replaced our seasonal concerts, and most recently, the glorious sounds of inhibitions melting away with Just Dance 4.
One thing you will not hear is live singing.
This may or may not come as a shock to the broader EA community, but as a part of our health protocols, indoor group singing has been prohibited for a majority of the school year due to health officials’ concern with the amount of aerosols released during the act of singing. With this in mind, Mr. Erwin understood the administration’s hesitance toward choral singing, saying, “I really believe that God puts us in certain situations, and that we can learn from everything we are put in.”
However, this restriction has been particularly devastating to the choir, Vocal Ensemble, band and musical participants. For members of the Arts community, like myself, who have been singing their hearts out in the very same risers since Lower School, we are reminded of just how different this year is. Seniors especially can recall times we took the choir trip to DC, performing in locations like the Washington National Cathedral or Ben’s Chili Bowl. Or when Mr. Erwin’s Mayterm “Takin’ it 2 the Streets” toured New York City and sang to confused yet happily surprised strangers. Even remembering the days of Vocal Ensemble leading nearly every Chapel service have left widespread feelings of loss among EA singers. A longstanding Vocal Ensemble member and avid member of the Arts community Veronica Garrubbo ’21 noted that “it’s like telling the track team they can’t run.” One of our choir presidents, Sona Bardakjian ‘21, pointed out how she misses the anticipation of preparing for a concert as well as the “whole feeling of hearing the choir pieces come together.”
Generally, members of the Arts community also felt slighted as EA went through extensive safety measures to make our sports a possibility each season, while the fall play, dance team, choir, and even band had extensive hoops to jump through. The most cited examples were the swimmers, who for obvious reasons are unable to wear masks during practices, as well as the wrestling team. We were quickly notified by our senior form dean Mr. Richards that the team was solely participating in team fitness workouts, but initially we thought “how could you possibly social distance while being pinned by another person?”
Overall, it just seemed as if athletics took precedence over the performing arts. These opinions became uncomfortable realities of the school year as we stepped into the choir room to do nearly anything but sing.
Mr. Erwin, the man who has arguably made the most drastic efforts to keep choir kids involved and engaged in the midst of these disheartening restrictions, says, “It’s a complicated issue,” in reference to athletics and the arts. Of course, when it first happened, he was upset. However, being a fairly spiritual man, he acknowledged that “there’s a St. Francis prayer about accepting the things you cannot change.” He shared, “A lot of people think administration is just Dr. Locke, but it isn’t. Something we always have to do as human beings is try to see things from another person’s perspective.”
Nevertheless, there are silver linings. An example of these are the choir videos professionally put together by Mr. Erwin. He single handedly listens to hours of content from both the Middle and Upper School to put together a video and put a smile on all of our faces. If you haven’t checked them out on Vimeo, I would certainly suggest it, guaranteed serotonin boost! Also, the lack of singing has allowed us to get into the more technical sides of music and be humbled by the amount we did not know, like how much longer to hold dotted notes or how embarrassing it is to clap on the second beat of a tied note. As a class, we have progressed to correctly sight reading exercises that are even more difficult than the ones we have done in previous years of Vocal Ensemble.
Mr. Erwin is truly hopeful that when it starts to get warm, the school will let us sing outside. The rollout of vaccines also holds promise for the future of choir. Even if we can no longer gospel step while packed together in the risers, sing sectionals around the piano, or tour our nation’s cities, students singers and musicians like me hope that the EA administration will read this article and decide to start valuing us as much as they value athletes.