It’s Good to Hear Your Voice

Music has once again filled the halls of NASH as chorus classes are beginning to sing for the first time this year.

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photo by Jess Daninhirsch

As NASH students transition to full time in-person instruction, chorus students are also regaining a bit of normalcy.

Jess Daninhirsch, Junior Photography Editor

Music programs across the country have been among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Singing and playing instruments has been difficult because of the use of masks and the risk of spreading the virus through particles released while singing. In fact, this whole year so far at NASH, chorus classes have not sung while in in-person classes.

However, that changed this past Monday. As NASH gradually phases back into fully in-person instruction, the chorus classes have begun to sing in harmony once again.

Before singing again in class was even a possibility, choir teacher Mr. Schmiech worked tirelessly to make sure that his students were still learning and engaged with the material.

“This year, Mr. Schmiech has really done the most to work around not being able to sing in person,” junior Coleman Walsh said. “He’s gone so far as to painstakingly edit footage of each individual choir member singing in order to stitch them together, sync it with video, and have a presentable performance of the song.”

Schmiech’s classes have cycled through numerous options to make the most of their time in class without singing.

“We began the year with an app that helps students practice, called SmartMusic,” Schmiech said in an interview. “This proved to be an effective method of practice, but not an engaging all-around educational experience. We missed sharing musical experiences with each other.”

The students ended up exercising some of their non-musical skills in the course.

“I taught students to use editing software to create their own projects. They recorded audio for a song of their choice and mixed it into a music video. After two of those, we did a written project to finish out the semester where students planned a choir concert program. The past few weeks, we have been studying musicals,” Schmiech explained.

With the current transition into a traditional chorus class setup, safety measures are being taken to protect against COVID-19.

I am extremely excited to be able to make music with my students again.

— Mr. Schmiech, Choral Director

“All of the research on singing with COVID dictates that we are six feet apart, wear form-fitting masks– students are encouraged to wear a disposable mask in addition to their cloth mask while they sing– and sing for no more than 35 minutes,” Schmiech said.

To accommodate the recent schedule change that still has many students attending virtually on any given day, Schmiech will have students learning remotely tune into class from home. Luckily, he has evenly split classes including sophomores, juniors, and seniors that remain consistent depending on who is in person and who is at home. He will also use Wellness Wednesdays to make up for the lack of in-person feedback time.

The lack of singing was intended to be transitional as we figured out what was safe to do in school,” Schmiech said. “Early on, we were approved to sing starting in the second quarter, but with the move to remote learning, it was pushed aside. Since we returned in January, we have been working with the administration to ensure that we can sing safely, and the plan was approved to begin singing on March 1.”

Fortunately, that change has been successfully implemented, and students are once again singing in class.

It was really nice to be able to sing together again. I felt super comfortable with it because we had masks on, and we were very spread out.

— Madison Kraus, NASH junior

I am extremely excited to be able to make music with my students again,” Schmiech continued. “I am nervous that the fact that we have been avoiding singing could cause some students anxiety, but I feel secure that what we are doing to ensure students’ safety is all according to research and practices that other schools have tried before us. Obviously, masks and physical distance are less than ideal for music making, but I believe that the excitement the students have for getting back to our content will outweigh the challenges and make this a valuable spring for choral music at NASH.”

The students seem to share Mr. Schmiech’s enthusiasm about being able to sing again.

It was really nice to be able to sing together again,” junior Madison Kraus said. “I felt super comfortable with it because we had masks on, and we were very spread out.”

The first time singing around other students was a unique experience.

“Our class actually didn’t sound too bad, which was surprising,” junior Madyson Cieszynski said. “It seemed hard to hear other people and match pitch, but we did really well. I think I was overthinking about other people hearing my voice, too! It also wasn’t as hard as I expected to sing in a mask.”

Schmiech anticipates there will be some kind of choir performance by the end of the year, but the format is up in the air.

“At the very least I will do a pre-recorded or live-streamed showcase of what the kids will be working on this spring, but planning is still underway. [I am] hoping we are on the uphill as far as opportunities for musicians at NA and beyond,” he said.