“Social distan-SING,” as East choir director Ms. Lutz phrases it, has been one of the toughest aspects of going back to school during the pandemic. While there were a few hurdles for choir students in the beginning of the year, there has been much progress since.

Receiving the news that once we returned to school we still wouldn’t be allowed to sing wasn’t just hard to hear for repeating chorus members, but for new ones as well. When freshmen found out they’d be joining just to send in audio files of individual rehearsals, many were not happy and spoke out about it. When you take an individual out of choir, they no longer are a choir themselves, just a member, and that’s really what it felt like up until we were handed singing masks this winter that allowed us to sing together in class for a maximum of 15 minutes. 

Prior to the new protocols, those who were on top of their classwork and dedicated to the chorus stepped together with Ms. Lutz to create a virtual performance of the song O’ Magnum Mysterium. The turnout was small but strong, persuading other choir members to work harder in hopes of being included in the next virtual performance. 

Choir students occasionally rehearse in the commons area, or even the cafeteria, so you may just catch us trailing through the school with our duck-billed masks on to sing in a voluminous space as we work on a collection of music for a spring concert!