How health-focused choirs adapted to the virtual world during the COVID-19 pandemic - An international survey.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the operation of choirs around the world due to the high-risk nature of group singing for disease transmission. These risks are even greater for people living with health conditions. This paper presents the results of an international, cross-sectional survey that asked health-focused choir facilitators if and how they adapted their choir to due to COVID-19 restrictions and the high-risk of transmission during group singing. Participants were recruited through searches of choir and music therapy networks, social media, and snowballing sampling methods. The anonymous online survey consisted of 17 multiple choice and 7 short answer questions. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Sixty-five surveys were commenced (50 completed). Many respondents (63 %) took their choirs online, and neurological conditions were the most common populations served. Format and methods of online choirs are described, as are benefits and challenges of online choirs. Several respondents indicated they would continue online post-COVID-19 restrictions. Online choirs were seen as feasible and beneficial, despite challenges. Recommendations regarding facilitator skills, technology set up, accessibility and session structure for online facilitation of health-focused choirs are provided.

Different media, same relationships: What the Iris Piano Trio learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

The Iris Music Project is a non-profit dedicated to reimagining residential and healthcare communities as spaces of creative exchange. By February 2020, our chamber music group, the Iris Piano Trio, had developed a model for music programming at Charles E. Smith Life Communities (CESLC) in Rockville, Maryland (United States), that emphasized collaborative relationships between professional musicians and community members. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the Trio’s work and tested its model. In this article, we describe how the Trio remained connected and relevant to CESLC residents by experiment-ing with virtual programmes that adapted our model to a digital setting. We argue that our prior relationships with residents and staff enabled us to impact their lives throughout the pandemic despite the isolation created by COVID-19 closures. The pandemic strained, but did not fundamentally change, the Trio’s ensemble-in-resi-dence model, suggesting its potential as a generalized model in the field of music and health. © 2021 Intellect Ltd Notes from the Field. English language.