In the weeks of in-person school, my wife had the brilliant idea to have all the choirs working on the same piece. A perfect message arrived in Gwyneth Walker’s “How Can I Keep From Singing.” It also offered, just before high schools in Michigan all returned to remote learning, a special chance to record “together.”
Recording at home is hard for high school students. It can be demoralizing, and is certainly not reminiscent of the true experience of communal singing. That’s what made my wife’s idea so perfect. It’s not a true virtual project, but it’s not a risky massed choir event. It’s a semi-virtual choir.
Each choir recorded the piece in the auditorium, socially-distanced and masked, to a pre-recorded piano accompaniment. That meant that all five choirs, across two buildings, two teachers, and five class periods, could record separately and be synced up afterwards. They were communally singing, even though they were too many to be in one room at once.
I took care of the audio engineering, as well as sharing video editing responsibilities with Mandy. We released the final product today. It’s not the same as being in a room with these young singers in concert, but it’s a potent reminder of what it feels like, and a testament to the creative spirit that lifts us up in these challenging times.
After all, as the song says, “Since I believe that love abides, how can I keep from singing?”