Sangre De Cristo Chorale Of New Mexico

THE CHORALE'S LONG HISTORY OF CONTRIBUTION TO THE COMMUNITY WAS SERIOUSLY THREATENED BY THE COVID-19 (HEREAFTER C19) PANDEMIC. ALTHOUGH MOST ARTS ACTIVITIES ARE CHALLENGED IN THEIR OWN WAYS BY C19, CHORAL GROUPS ARE PARTICULARLY CHALLENGED BECAUSE THE ACT OF SINGING ITSELF IS A POTENT VEHICLE FOR SPREAD OF THE VIRUS, AND IN NORMAL REHEARSALS AND PERFORMANCES BOTH THE SINGERS AND MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE ARE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO EACH OTHER. IT IS NO EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT THE SURVIVAL OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO CHORALE IN THE FACE OF C19 REQUIRED A COMPLETE RECONFIGURATION, AT LEAST IN THE NEAR TERM, OF HOW THE CHORALE MEETS ITS MISSION AND SERVES THE COMMUNITY. THE SANGRE DE CRISTO CHORALE SURVIVED THIS YEAR OF COMPLETE RECONFIGURATION BY SHIFTING TO ALL VIRTUAL ACTIVITIES. THE CHORALE'S MUSIC DIRECTOR AND ACCOMPANISTS DESIGNED A PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES THAT INCLUDED TWICE- MONTHLY VIDEO PRESENTATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY ON YOUTUBE WITH BOTH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER AND GROUP PRESENTATIONS ,AS WELL AS BI-MONTHLY EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND SOCIAL OCCASIONS ON ZOOM TO CONNECT OUR COMMUNITY DURING THESE CHALLENGING TIMES. THEY ALSO PREPARED AND RECORDED A SOLO VOICE RECITAL THAT WAS ALSO SHARED ON YOUTUBE. THE CHORALE DURING THE YEAR PRODUCED A TOTAL OF THIRTY DIFFERENT VIRTUAL EVENTS THAT INCLUDED TWENTY-ONE DIFFERENT VIDEOS EACH AVERAGING OVER ONE HUNDRED VIEWS. THE BOARD CONTINUED TO HOLD MEETINGS ON ZOOM TO STEER DECISION MAKING, KEEP TRACT OF MEMBER PARTICIPATION, AND LEAD FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES TO SUCCESSFULLY PAY ITS ARTISTIC CONTRACT MUSICIANS AT A SIMILAR RATE AS THE PREVIOUS YEAR WHEN NO IN PERSON REHEARSALS OR PAYING CONCERTS WERE HELD. THE CHORALE ARTISTIC PERSONNEL AND THE BOARD HAD DEVELOPED PLANS FOR RESUMPTION OF NORMAL ACTIVITIES WHEN ALLOWED, BUT ONGOING CONCERNS DELAYED ANY IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE NOW TO LATE IN 2021. THE BOARD SPENT MUCH OF THE LATER PART OF THE YEAR PREPARING A PROGRAM FOR THE SUBSEQUENT YEAR AND STUDYING AND DEVELOPING A PROTOCOL FOR RISK MITIGATION ONCE HEALTH GUIDELINES WOULD ALLOW FOR IN PERSON EVENTS AGAIN.

SDCC PREPARED TWO SCENARIOS DEPENDING UPON COVID-19 CONDITIONS DURING THE YEAR: (1) A RETURN TO IN-PERSON REHEARSALS AND CONCERT PERFORMANCES, AND (2) CONTINUATION OF OUR VIRTUAL ACTIVITIES DEVELOPED DURING FY 2020-2021. AS EVENTS DEVELOPED, BOTH THOSE SCENARIOS WERE EMPLOYED. THE ADVENT OF THE DELTA VARIANT LATE IN THE SUMMER OF 2021 CAUSED US TO CANCEL OUR PLANNED OCTOBER IN-PERSON CONCERT, TO CONTINUE OUR VIRTUAL ACTIVITIES, AND TO RE- EVALUATE OUR COVID-19 PROTOCOLS. BASED ON AN UPDATED COVID-19 PROTOCOL, WE WERE ABLE TO PERFORM OUR HOLIDAY CONCERT "A WINTER DAY" IN SANTA FE AND LOS ALAMOS, WITH ALL PARTICIPANTS REQUIRED TO BE VACCINATED AND MASKED. THE CONCERTS PREMIERED "THE END AND THE BEGINNING," A WORK BY KATIE KRING COMMISSIONED BY THE CHORALE FOR OUR FIRST LIVE PERFORMANCES. FOLLOWING THOSE SUCCESSFUL CONCERTS, THE OMICRON VARIANTS INTERVENED. GIVEN THE SPIKE IN INFECTION AND HOSPITALIZATION RATES IN EARLY 2022, THE CHORALE BOARD ELECTED TO CANCEL THE FEBRUARY CONCERTS AND TO RESCHEDULE THE PLANNED REPERTOIRE FOR OUR PREVIOUSLY SCHEDULED MAY CONCERT IF COVID-19 CONDITIONS ALLOWED. AS EVENTS TRANSPIRED, WE WERE ABLE TO PERFORM "A SHAKESPEARE SAMPLER" IN MAY, AGAIN WITH SINGERS, CONDUCTOR, PIANIST, AND AUDIENCE MEMBERS VACCINATED AND MASKED. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE STAYED IN TOUCH WITH OUR AUDIENCES AND THE COMMUNITY BY MEANS OF THE VIRTUAL CAPABILITIES. THESE INCLUDED BIMONTHLY EMAIL DISTRIBUTIONS, PERIODIC SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, AND REGULAR UPDATES TO THE CHORALE WEBSITE. THE BOARD CONTINUED TO HOLD MEETINGS ON ZOOM AND IN PERSON TO STEER DECISION MAKING, KEEP TRACT OF MEMBER PARTICIPATION, AND LEAD FUND RAISING ACTIVITIES TO SUCCESSFULLY PAY ITS ARTISTIC CONTRACT MUSICIANS AT A SIMILAR RATE AS IN PREVIOUS YEARS EVEN THOUGH NOT ALL PLANNED ACTIVITIES WERE HELD. THE BOARD SPENT MUCH OF THE LATER PART OF THE YEAR PREPARING A PROGRAM FOR THE SUBSEQUENT YEAR AND CONTINUED TO REVIEW PROTOCOLS FOR RISK MITIGATION TO CONTINUE TO PERFORM AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE.