Arts & Culture
The Richmond Orchestra and Chorus Association is connecting people through its annual holiday concert, back this year after a pandemic hiatus. (File photo from 2019.)
Photo by Bill Meyer
Choir bringing people back together this Christmas
By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published 12:11 PST, Tue December 7, 2021
Last Updated: 11:31 PST, Mon February 14, 2022
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They may be singing while masked, but they’re still aiming to spread holiday cheer after a season when all such concerts had to be cancelled.
The Richmond Orchestra and Chorus Association, also known as ROCA, is gearing up for its first choral concert since March 2020, planned for Dec. 12. And chorus director Brigid Coult says there was “an awful lot of eagerness” to get back together once safety protocols were in place.
Both the chorus and orchestra are much more spaced out while rehearsing, and vaccination is mandatory. But even with those measures in place, there was a scare early last month when an orchestra member tested positive for COVID-19 and their concert—planned for Nov. 6—was postponed for a month. It is now scheduled for Dec. 7.
“It’s mostly us being over-careful, but we’d rather be over-careful than under-careful,” says Coult.
During the pandemic, the chorus held virtual rehearsals on Zoom, and their spring session turned into a music history course, which Coult describes as “not wasted time, just different time.”
The orchestra, meanwhile, met briefly in small groups as well as taking on a recording project. While unable to meet inside their regular space, an outdoor concert kept members connected.
Coult says the chorus is excited to gather for a holiday concert again. Rehearsals were also offered via Zoom for people who didn’t feel able to participate in person, and the concert will be filmed for people who are not comfortable attending in-person.
With a large venue, even 50 per cent capacity will allow for 500 attendees. Audience members must be masked at all times and must show proof of vaccination. The usual intermission has been removed in favour of a shorter concert, which will hopefully reduce bathroom line-ups and mingling in the lobby.
“We are encouraging people to distance, and recordings will make the music available afterwards for people who would feel safer not attending,” says Coult.
And chorus members will be performing in masks, which means it’s even more important to communicate with their eyes.
“We just want to share with our audiences again,” says Coult. “The barrier of a mask is a definite hindrance in communication, perhaps less for the orchestra than the chorus.”
But she says masked concerts are possible, and has been emphasizing the importance of learning the program well enough that singers can also look out at the audience, rather than only down at their music.
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