Singing Together Miles Apart

How do you create harmony when people are miles apart? That's the challenge that faced Choir Director Erin Gabriel.

She is working to blend the voices of students from home, but the difficulties have revealed a universal truth. "My first step was to help the kids acknowledge what we will be losing," explains Gabriel. "The thing that kids love about choir is exactly the thing that we are not allowed to do right now: sing together in a classroom. However, students can still sing at home safely, so that has been a silver lining. If nothing else, this keeps the kids singing and using their “instrument” even though it feels different."

With people wondering “How are the arts even happening right now?” Overlake Arts Chair and Choir Teacher Erin Gabriel says that while the arts are happening, like many other disciplines, things are looking a bit different. Visual and Performing Arts classes have not only had to rearrange how they teach, but often what they teach, in order to adhere to safety protocols.

While other instructors might struggle to give individual attention, virtual learning has its advantages. "This also give me the opportunity to listen to students one-on-one and give more individualized feedback," says Gabriel. "They’ve worked on solo projects, too – recording their own voices, breaking down a piece of music, studying the lyrics and emotional meaning, and doing coaching sessions with me as they put their final project together over a number of weeks."

"The Teaching and Learning team have been great about providing options for faculty to learn as much as we can about how to teach in this crazy online world.  Flipgrid and Screencast-o-matic have been very useful, and in addition I’ve used Sight Reading Factory and Soundtrap to create assignments and assess student progress."

Mark Lotz, Overlake's orchestra director, uses a really cool new program called UpBeat with his strings students, and they’re able to practice, record, and listen to themselves all together in real time. "It’s incredible how many new programs are popping up, and becoming available for music teachers. There are some great minds working behind the scenes to make sure band, choir, and orchestra programs can continue to exist, even in a pandemic," says Gabriel.

"Right now, my teaching is about the journey that these kids are taking during our class time together. I strive to keep my class fun, musical, challenging, and a place of connection. Kids learn quickly and can adapt to most anything as long as I stay positive and enthusiastic about the things we can do," adds Gabriel. As a result, the students have found that Choir has been a sort of therapy during these difficult times. "I require my students to keep their cameras on, as that is the best way to actually see one another, show expression, laugh, smile, and sing 'together' right now. Choir students are obviously sad to not have a performance on stage, but they’re also learning how much more there is to being a singer, or being part of an ensemble, than one final performance on stage."

Last semester, with the help of an outside company, the Chamber Choir created this video, which required a new kind of focus, accuracy, musicality, and energy, and ultimately allowed them to connect their voices. Gabriel admits that virtual choir projects are not necessarily very rewarding for the singer in the moment, but when it’s all put together, they are a lovely way to share our music with the community, and enjoy the sound of voices all together.

The plan to do at least one more of these projects this spring, and we'll make sure to share it with our Overlake community.