From Anita Goodwin, Board President, Down East Singers, about fall semester 2020

[Tony]

Dear Fellow Singers, 

By now, you may have seen in the press or on social media that Down East Singers is “up and running but in a very different direction!” Because Covid-19 makes it impossible to safely sing together in person, our artistic director, Anthony Antolini; our assistant artistic director and accompanist, Jennifer McIvor; and the Board of Directors have been working diligently to create a safe alternative. Thank you all (92 singers so far!) for signing up to be part of the experimentation leading up to this exciting project. 

I am happy to report that a DES performance will air on Sunday December 13 at 2 PM as the December featured concert of Bay Chamber Concerts’ winter series. We will be using a combination of computer platforms to hold remote rehearsals and learning sessions (My Choral Coach, Zoom, Facebook Live, YouTube Live). Some rehearsal activities will be held on Tuesday nights; other work can be done at your convenience. All of it will be virtual. Repertoire will include Schubert’s German Mass (in English), a motet by Bortniansky and the immortal AfricanAmerican hymn "Lift Every Voice and Sing.” This will be an audio-only virtual choir. The music will be played while artworks by Maine artists are displayed.

 If you wish to, you may submit recordings of your voice that will be accompanied by the Halcyon String Quartet and organ and will be mixed by Arts Laureate, a sound engineering company whose clients have included the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Choral Arts Society of Washington, the Kennedy Center, and many others. Submitting a sound file for the recording is not a requirement, but is, of course, the only way to be a part of the concert! 

The score for the Schubert German Mass is provided free of charge on the My Choral Coach platform on your computer screen. However, some singers like to have a real, tangible score of their own. If you'd like to own your score please go to www.sheetmusicplus "The world's largest sheet music selection" will sell it to you for $5.50 and ship it directly to your door. The edition number is G-7530 and the publisher is GIA Publications. You can also find it if you go to www.giamusic.com. Owning your score is entirely up to you. You won't need one in order to participate with My Choral Coach. Tony will provide downloadable copies of his arrangements of the Bortniansky Lord's Prayer and James Weldon Johnson's Lift Every Voice and Sing at no charge. 

Our fall semester will begin Tuesday September 22 at 7pm and end just before Thanksgiving. Our Tuesday evening sessions will run approximately 1.5 hours and will be recorded so you can view them at a later time if that’s convenient. These sessions will not involve singing together since the technology hasn’t been developed that would permit that kind of activity, although it is in development. 

The Board has decided to hire Jack Gervais, a student with remarkable technology skills, to serve as our tech support so that singers have someone to turn to when they encounter problems with the platforms we will be using. You will meet Jack at our first virtual meeting on September 22. 

The registration fee for fall semester will be $70. There are two ways you can register: Go to downeastsingers.org and click on “Join Us” 1) Download and complete the registration form and mail a check for $70 (payable to Down East Singers) to PO Box 996, Rockport ME 04856-0996. 2) Download and complete the registration form and send it to us by regular mail or email. Use the PayPal link to pay your $70 registration fee. Registration fees are due by Sept 14.

 In spite of new and unforeseen expenses during COVID-19, Down East Singers continues to promote involvement of singers under 18 years of age by allowing them to participate in all of our activities free of charge. When registering, students under 18 will need to provide proof of age. 

I regret to have to tell you that Covid-19 has put Down East Singers, like so many organizations and individuals, in a challenging financial position. We have been forced to cancel our in-person, live concerts for December 2020 and May 2021, which means that there will be no income from ticket sales or program ad sales. The virtual concert will be free, although we will ask for donations which will be split with Bay Chamber Concerts. Our fixed expenses, on the other hand, remain largely unchanged. These include administrative expenses, such as insurance and postage and shipping costs for annual appeal letters; design and website services; and most importantly, salaries for our artistic director and assistant director/ accompanist. Semester fees will be used exclusively to help pay for these fixed expenses. In addition to fixed expenses, there are substantial production costs for our December virtual concert. 

The fee from Arts Laureate will be $60 per singer, based on the six pieces that we will be singing. The fee would total $5520 if 92 singers submitted recordings. Other costs of producing the concert will include the fees for Choral Coach, tech support, and Halcyon String Quartet. We are asking that, if you are able, you consider adding a donation to your registration fee to help cover these concert production costs. It could be any amount less than, more than, or equal to the $60. per person Arts Laureate fee.

I look forward to being involved with this exciting project and to singing with you soon! 

Sincerely yours, 

Anita Goodwin President, Board of Directors, Down East Singers