Letter to AVHC Choristers, Families, Alumni and Community Members

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Dear AVHC Choristers, Families, Alumni and Community Members,

We wanted to reach out and extend our heartfelt wish that you’re staying healthy during these challenging times. Although it is difficult not making music together in the same way, our primary obligation is to keep everyone in our AVHC choir family safe while still feeling connected to and supported by our organization. We aim to keep our singers learning and laughing, and we are discovering new and exciting ways to finish out our season that allow us to continue to do what we love to do together.

AVHC has suspended in-person rehearsals, and with great disappointment, we have decided to cancel our spring concert, “A Finely Woven Earth”, which was to be presented on May 9th at Wolfville Baptist Church. This concert was to be a celebration of our planet and our role in its care. The program title, and overall message, speaks to how truly connected we all are - a message now more poignant than ever. The singers still want to share this beautiful music with you. It may not be the same, but we are working behind the scenes to bring you some of this concert “virtually”, later this spring. As a non-profit organization with charitable status, we will be issuing tax receipts for the value of any pre-purchased tickets.

We are doing our best to continue operating with a full staff, are planning for the future and focusing on the positive. We would like to share some happy highlights of the last two weeks.

  • ZOOM! - Weekly meetups with all choirs with check-ins, vocal health sessions, literacy groups, repertoire learning, and some fun!

  • New Opportunities to Learn - choirs are exploring new types of activities and topics the singers are most interested in.

  • Discovery - New platforms for skill-building, like online theory and sight-singing programs.

  • Student-led learning - Our section leaders and apprentices have stepped up their leadership roles, helping with small online group music learning and directing discussions.

  • Ownership - Many singers are taking this time to improve their individual musicianship skills and we are assisting them in that as we are able.

  • Guest Artists - We have invited specialists and experts to lead sessions with the choirs

  • Meet Ups With Other Choirs! - A choir from Portugal that the seniors met on tour last summer surprised us when they joined our zoom call to check to make sure everyone was ok. On the day we were supposed to be in Toronto, meeting the Bach Children’s Choir, we organized a “virtual meet and greet’ instead to brighten our singers’ spirits.

Here are some more things to look out for this spring!

  • Video Campaigns from our choristers on social media showcasing many of their talents for a variety of purposes.

  • Singer led campaigns for giving back to our communities

  • Instagram hand washing and solfege challenges

  • Bring a friend to “rehearsal” night!

  • Q&A’s with singers about the choir

  • Online Auditions for next season!

  • A “virtual” spring concert performance

We wish to extend our warmest wishes to everyone in our AVHC family, including audiences, artists, volunteers, staff, and of course our talented choristers. Please feel free to reach out to us through email or social media. We would love to hear from all of you.

Remember to stay positive, practice social distancing, and always keep singing!

Sincerely,

AVHC Board of Directors, Allen Chase - President
Heather Fraser - Artistic Director
Vanessa Gennette - AVHC Coordinator