Hi everyone, I’m Anne, and I’m speaking to you from my kitchen, which also doubles as my classroom, my office, and occasionally my rehearsal room.
A few days ago I met with WA ACDA leadership—Julie Parsons, past president, and Barbara Tappa, president-elect—where we made the hard but necessary decision to shift our 2020 Summer Institute to an online format. This decision was not made lightly. For several weeks I’ve been in conversation with the board, the leadership of the Northwestern Region, state presidents from across the Pacific Northwest, and representation from our national headquarters. Even as we are beginning to see portions of our country begin to slowly open up, we decided that moving online was best for the safety, security and well-being of all of us and our families.
We are excited about this great new opportunity! While we are still working out the details, the board is already designing sessions and social opportunities that will give you the same resources you are used to receiving at Summer Institute. We will host live sessions but also ensure that you have access to the content even if you can’t attend. And we are proud to be able to offer you this conference for free!
As conductors we are called to inspire people, to bring people together PHYSICALLY to foster thriving musical communities. When the music suddenly stops, and those we want to sing with are far away, we experience an overpowering sense of grief and loss. We can use this virtual conference as an opportunity to recommit ourselves to this great craft, to rekindle that sense of excitement we felt when we first stepped in front of a choir. We do this so we can continue to be an inspiration to our singers and to be ready to welcome them into our rehearsal rooms when we can be together again. In doing so we will strengthen our deep resilience, patience, and passion that allow us to be great teachers for our singers and friends to each other in this new environment.
We will formally announce our schedule for our virtual conference in early June. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email them directly to me or to your area liaison on the board. You can find all of our contact information on our website.
Until then, may we remain people of vision and fortitude for our singers. Cheers to all of you and to your great work. Washington is a better place to sing because of you!
Sincerely,
Anne
Washington ACDA 