Hi Everyone:
I just ran into Shandra in the grocery store (yes, we had our masks on and we kept 6 feet apart) and I realized that I was supposed to send you all an email a couple weeks ago. It’s amazing how time is warped. In one sense our weeks seem to fly by and, in another sense, it seems like this has been going on for four months or more. There are some very important items I’d like to take a moment to fill you in on.
Well, this was supposed to be a wonderful weekend for us singing the beautiful harmonies of Dan Forrest. Rest assured, as I’m sure you all know, Marcia has been in constant communication with Dan working on the reschedule. We’re also very busy working on all the other concert dates for the 2020-2021 season.
You’ve probably already figured out that, in addition to Dan Forrest, we also had to cancel the Riviera Theatre Concert. Even if we get a “Get Out of Jail” card, there simply is no way of putting a concert together in the time frame allowed. The good news? We cancelled well before the 30 day deadline, so our deposit is fully refunded and is being applied toward next year’s concert.
I am so grateful to Sean Adamchick and Paula Belair for volunteering to work on the election committee this year. Obviously, elections are very hard to do when there is no way we can get together. It’s become cliché, but these are, truly, extraordinary times. The Board had a very in-depth discussion and voted to suspend elections this year. We will all serve you over the coming year in our present positions so that there is continuity in planning and execution over these trying times.
We realize, also, that our Annual Meeting, in addition to the election, is the time we present you with a recap of the current year with a review of our financial situation, as well as presenting a budget and plans for the coming concert season. As we get into June we will present you with a financial update on this current season. “Chorus America”, an organization we are a member of, has always urged independent choruses like ours to have a reserve fund of approximately one year’s revenue for financial stability. We are very fortunate to have diligently worked very hard over the past years to build a surplus that would get us through an unforeseen emergency situation. We always thought it would be a snowstorm. Little did we ever imagine something like this. While this crisis, and the need to cancel our entire spring season, has hurt us, we have not been bled dry.
We are hoping that, should the “powers that be” allow large gatherings over the summer, we may be able to schedule a picnic of some sort to get us together for a brief time of fellowship. It seems almost every other event has been cancelled this summer, but, if we are able, we will try.
Tentatively, we are hoping to rehearse once again in September. Only time will tell. Let’s all pray that, to one degree or another, our lives may return to some semblance of normalcy. I, personally, dislike the term “new norm” because I kind of liked and prefer the old norm. I can’t imagine a world where we are unable to hug and kiss another human being or even shake hands.
Please, keep safe, keep healthy, and keep singing. I wonder how we’ll sound thru N-95 masks?
Musically yours,
Kevin
