Singing in silence: How this Whitehorse choir is rehearsing during COVID-19

Barbara Chamberlinleads her choir through vocal warm-upsbut she can't hear her singers.

While itlooks like 11sopranos are belting their hearts out,everyone is muted on Zoom.

"I'm just seeing a bunch of mouths moving, hopefully," said Chamberlin, the director of the Whitehorse Community Choir.

The Whitehorse Community Choiris largely rehearsingover Zoom this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. People sing from their own homes, with their microphones on mute to avoid the time lag.

The experience is"really strange," said Chamberlin.

"It's hard to singby yourself, it really is."

But new guidelines from Yukon'schief medical officermean a few people can now sing together again.

At the soprano sectional on Monday, foursingers sat in Chamberlin's home wearingmasks and sitting at adistance, while she lead the rest of the choir over Zoom.

"It's a bit more of a choir experience," said Chamberlin. Only one section rehearses at a time, and avolunteer helps sanitize the room.

The choir stopped rehearsals this spring and was on hiatus until September.

More than 60 people signed up for virtual choir practice. Rehearsals began with online sectionals, so Chamberlin can work with smaller groups.

"It's really strange doing it over Zoom because Ican't hear what anyone's doing," said Chamberlin.She planson starting to record singers, then providing individual feedback.

"We're not used to this at all," said Chamberlin."But it's been pretty successful so far."

But it's not the same.

Socializing is such a big part of choir, said Chamberlin, who noted some previousmembers didn't sign upfor virtual practices.

Chamberlin has submitted an application and hopes to have 19 people rehearse a church later this month.

Their holiday performance will also be pre-recorded, with Chamberlinmixing the choristers'recordings together.

Singing and playing wind instruments produce droplets that pose risk of spreading COVID-19, say guidelines from Yukon's chief medical officer. These activities weren't allowed in Yukon's schools when they reopened.

But Dr. Brendan Hanley announced new guidelines for singing and wind instrumentsin late September.

"We have tools to manage that risk, even if we cannot eliminate it," theguidelines say.

The guidelines suggest wearing masks, having practices outdoors or in well-ventilated areas, not sharing music, and keeping a plexiglass barrier between performers and the audience.

Singers have to be two metres apart, and the conductor has to be four metres from the choir.

The guidelines suggestrehearsing insmall groups, and keep rehearsals to 30-minute sessions.

Chamberlin said she's happy with the guidelines. But the whole choir still can'trehearse together they don't have enough space for the requireddistancing.

She's uncertain about the future.

"There are diehard choir people and they will always want to do choir no matter what," she said.

"Itry to make this fun, but it's not always fun being on Zoom by yourself. So we just have to see what happens."