Choir Update for Summer Worship

Dear cherished singers,

So, it has been quite the year and a half living in this altered reality in our one-dimensional Zoom boxes. Indeed, I feel our church family has grown even closer through this experience, surprisingly! Hidden blessings. It has not been without its measure of loneliness, illnesses, losses, grief and various side effects born of isolating ourselves to remain safe and increase the probability we will not contract this virus or spread it to others. 

To say I’ve been mourning the loss of singing together with you and co-creating beautiful music together in our sanctuary would be a huge understatement.  

However, being the incredibly generous souls you are, whether you have collaborated in the vast array of pre-recorded music or have cheered us on every week, as you patiently awaited the time when we could sing together “live,” you have made our music deeper and richer. We made it work, and we will continue to do so for at least a few more months until we are all given the green light to finally return to our newly renovated sanctuary. Now we are seeing light at the end of the Covid tunnel.

As we prepare to transition to our upcoming outdoor 9:00 am services, while still maintaining the 11:00 am Zoom service, I have been thinking long and hard (with invaluable input from Michael, Bobbie, and Julie) on what music will look like outdoors, given our safety protocol and restrictions on both distancing and singing.

Here is where we’ve landed, as far as summer music is concerned: (all fully masked, of course)

1. Myself or Bill will play the portable electric piano up front (like previous outdoor services).
2. There can be up to 2 singers singing together up front, distanced a bit (probably only a couple feet, which is fine outdoors with masks), plus myself or Bill, all amplified with appropriate stand microphones.
3. In staying in alignment with our safety protocol, anyone singing will need to be fully vaccinated.
4. All singers who volunteer to sing this summer will be given their own cloth “singer’s mask,” which we have already purchased and have at church. You will be responsible for your own mask and all that goes along with that (laundering and bringing with you to each service in which you will sing).
5. I am calling all singers and instrumentalists to share their gifts, as we do every summer.  
6. I will be recycling, as I have already started doing, previous recordings for our continued Zoom services, as well as create any new recordings that might be needed.
7. Since there isn’t an official place where we can rehearse “live,” I will offer Zoom rehearsals and study tapes where needed. As a result, there will only be one opportunity to rehearse together in person before service. Anyone singing for the 9:00 am service will need to be at church in the courtyard ready to sing at 8:15 am. (Since there will be no food or beverages provided by church, please be sure to BYOC = Bring Your Own Coffee!!) 

Please take some time, if you will, to look at your schedule for July and August and send me any dates that you can make yourself available to lead the music with me, as well as which elements you would like to lead (i.e. singing a solo or duet for the hymn or offertory, or play an instrumental piece). Once you’ve decided these details, please fill out the details below and return the information to me by Wednesday, June 23,  holly@oldfirstucc.org   

Thank you in advance for all you share with us in our beloved Old First family! I look forward to even more musical miracles together. 

With love and gratitude always,

Holly, music director

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I would like to share my musical gifts as outlined below:

9:00 am service dates:

_____  July 4

_____  July 11

_____  July 18

_____  July 25

_____  Aug 1

_____  Aug 8

_____  Aug 15

_____  Aug 22

_____  Aug 29

_____  Sept 5 (Labor Day weekend)

Voice / Instrument:

Vocal: (each with Holly or Bill accompanying on piano)

_____  Solo offertory

_____  Solo hymn leader 

_____  Duet offertory

_____  Duet hymn leader

_____  I am available to continue to sing for Acapella collaborations for the Zoom services.

Instrumental:

Which instrument(s)?: ____________________________

_____  Instrumental duet (with singer or another instrumentalist)

_____  Instrumental solo w/piano or just solo (i.e. sing while playing guitar or piano)