Have you ever heard the expression “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain”, written by Vivian Greene? Especially now, I believe it encompasses the heart and soul of Sweet Adelines world-wide. We have taken the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed most of our lives and expanded our way of thinking. We pushed away the storm, the pandemic, and learned to dance in the rain by designing new and innovative ways to continue to work with our chorus and quartets. We learned to be creative so that we could keep our music alive for the past year.
To say that our exuberance for singing has not waned and that we are yearning to see each other, does not adequately express our craving for and dedication to this artform and our need to return to chorus life.
Although we represent membership from 5 states, the pandemic has imposed changes in what we referred to as “normal” activity and returning to Sweet Adelines events is no exception. We find ourselves wanting the same outcome … to return to safe and secure rehearsal settings. Since your location, state, county, etc., has its own guidelines, there is no universal fit for returning to rehearsal life.
If you’re not already rehearsing together, many choruses will soon be considering that big return to weekly on-site rehearsals. With that in mind, Region 17 has designed a document of guidelines, suggested procedures, check lists and resources to assist your chorus leaders in designing a plan that fits your chorus needs. The listed guidelines are merely suggestions - there is NO obligation for each chorus to utilize the listed procedures. The use of these resources is offered to assist choruses in researching your state and local regulations and to better understand your members' comfort levels. It is our hope that the document will enlighten you when deciding the who, what, when, where, why and how of your return to weekly in-person rehearsals.
We understand that returning to rehearsal is not a decision that will be taken lightly, and we appreciate the difficulty in making those plans. Review the document, add it to your chorus MT and Board’s agenda, discuss how to implement the return and if you find yourself needing a bit more guidance, your regional leadership is here to assist you. Please contact Vicki VanGorder, Events Coordinator with any questions.
Deb Ferenc, Region 17 Management Team Coordinator
Region 17 Back to Rehearsal Task Force:
Vicki VanGorder, Chair, Greater Cleveland Chorus (Ohio)
Sandy Blamowski, Buffalo Gateway Chorus (New York)
Liz Lind, Voices in Harmony Chorus (Michigan)
LaRita Robinson, River Bend Chorus (Indiana)
Jaime Weinfeld, Lake Ridge Legacy Chorus (Pennsylvania)
BACK TO REHEARSAL RESOURCES
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SAI Back to Rehearsal Resources (requires members to login to International website)
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Region 17 Back to Rehearsal Suggested Chorus Plan (Word or PDF) - provides high level recommended steps for chorus leadership to make the best decisions possible regarding when and how to return to in person chorus rehearsals.
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Region 17 Back to Rehearsal Checklists (Word or PDF) - provides a comprehensive, combined set of checklists to use for chorus rehearsals.
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Region 17 Online Resources (Word or PDF) - provides a set of online resources specific to Region 17 intended to augment the SAI resources.
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Suggested Chorus Survey Questions (Word or PDF) - provides possible questions to utilize with chorus members for a back to rehearsal survey.
