The Kids of Note and Notations, a pair of local child and youth choirs for children of all abilities, have taken their annual Christmas concert online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This is the first year that the Saskatoon group was unable to perform live since its inception 15 years ago.
“This is the way we’re going to keep connected and keep our community engage, and also we need to raise some funds,” founding director Brenda Baker said. “Our concerts provided about 30 per cent of our annual revenue.”
Unlike regular years, when the group sings together, harmonizing as one, they sang from the comfort of their own homes while recording their performance on cellphones and tablets.
That worked for choir parts, but navigating protocols for the musicians and soloists was a bit trickier.
“We had all of them come in individually, one person at a time, with all of the COVID protocols (being followed),” Baker said. “They would stand in their place, remove their mask, sing their little bit, and then out the door they went.”
As much work as the process was for all in involved, it was equally enjoyable, especially for one chorister, Drake Dixon, who has been in the choir for a decade.
“Honestly, at this point, I think anything, anything music is able to get me in a good, good mood,” Dixon said.
The final product left everyone feeling accomplished.
“I liked it,” Dixon said with a smile. “I believe everyone did a good job.”
“They’re still going to be in front of an audience, and we can talk about that,” Baker added. “We can tell them how great their work was, that means a lot to me.”