Hello, Chorus Angelicus family: I hope your summer is a good one. Stay cool, wherever you choose to spend these sweltering days! I also hope you're all healthy and taking the necessary precautions to stay that way: and remember to keep your neighbors and loved ones healthy as well.
Even in the lull of these summer months, while we take a break from rehearsals, we continue to monitor the development of the pandemic and the official guidelines, as we adapt to these crazy times. As I mentioned in the previous newsletter, we will be at the ready for a threefold plan of action in the fall. The plan will involve remote teaching, in-person teaching, or a combination of both. We are also working to secure a technology staff person who will coordinate the critical aspects of our online presence. Creating the valuable artistic content that our audiences have come to expect from us is serious business. And there are other situations to consider: the Investiture and the Winter concerts, for instance, might become full online events, or hybrid events. We will see!
I have also been kept busy, working on our
Canticle of Brother Sun
virtual choir project. More than 30 submissions from instrumentalists and choristers will ensure we have plenty of quality material to create a fabulous collage of images and music. Next week is editing week: we will combine all the sound recordings and make sure that they not only line up properly, but also that we can craft a sound that makes justice to the beautiful choral blend we are known for! After the sound edit work is complete, the video designer will take the many cellphone recordings and weave them into the now familiar Brady Bunch style tapestry that you will all enjoy watching! Jessica Glass and Dave Raymond, whose amazing work you all know well from years of seeing their videos on YouTube, are taking care of this project under my supervision.
I chose the
Canticle of Brother Sun
and Sister Moon from
Missa Gaia
because the piece exudes an universal sense of being grateful for life and all the incredible tiny miracles that make up the world we inhabit: sun, moon, family, flowers, friends, pets, landscape, and the list goes on. During this hard 2020 year, it is good to remind ourselves that the “beauty of the earth” is still with us, though in different ways.
Continue to rest and enjoy yourselves, everyone!
Gabriel
