One of the things choir leaders will need to wrestle with in the coming months is students afraid of heartbreak.
Last year, my students lost musical performances, a trip to Europe, all concerts after March, and so much more. So did everyone else, of course.
But it’s easier for adults, with a wider perspective on the past, to move past those heartbreaks. I have a sense that students will be skittish about auditioning, even participating, in musical events, even when the risks from COVID-19 are in the past.
Without even being conscious of their reasons, they will be afraid of heartbreak.
It will be on choir leaders to gently nudge, encourage, cajole, or even compel our students to move past this fear of heartbreak and get back to the good and valuable work of making music together.