The show must go on – even if it’s being done from a safe distance.
Though COVID-19 has forced the Big Rock Singers to shift gears in a milestone year for the group, it’s also brought forth some unique opportunities and creative outlets like never before.
“In mid-March when the lockdown happened, we were midway through preparing for our 30th anniversary gala season concert,” said Carey Gruber, artistic and music director of the Big Rock Singers. “It was a huge season, we were all super excited, 30 years, we had two dinner shows and a gala planned for the end of our season, the end of May and the lockdown occurred.”
Due to the fact the Big Rock Singers spring season involves choreography, costumes and a huge show at the Foothills Centennial Centre, the group opted to put the season on pause rather than jumping into virtual rehearsals.
“The thing I heard most often from that choir during that period of time was the acute sense of loss that they felt because it was so sudden,” Gruber added. “One day we were singing and dancing and getting ready for this huge show and the next day everything had stopped.
“For many of our singers who are so close, we call ourselves the choir family it was just a massive loss.”
Rehearsals resumed in September when the group launched its Virtual Christmas Season when it became things weren’t going to return to normal.
“We have been rehearsing via Zoom,” Gruber said. “The name of our season is Together…While in Song, realizing that we still have the ability to see each other, we can’t hear each other while we sing over Zoom, but at least we can see each other and connect with each other that way.”
Despite the new format, registration was beyond the group’s wildest imaginations, Gruber said, with the virtual format allowing for past members and those living outside of the community to get involved.
“We thought we might have half a choir and we ended up with every bit as big a group this season as we normally would have,” she said. “One of the super cool things is we have four singers this season – three of whom are former choir members, one living in Texas now and one living in B.C.
“This gave them the opportunity to dive back in and do what they love with the people they love. And one of our singer’s sister, who lives in Ontario, was also able to join us. They have just loved being able to sing together as sisters.”
Gruber said the virtual rehearsal logistics did prove to be a steep learning curve, particularly due to the lagging video not allowing the singing to be heard.
A four-member tech team helped tackle those challenges head on.
“I spent countless hours and countless webinars between March and August learning how to direct a choir that was rehearsing virtually,” she said. “I had absolutely no idea how it would work, what to do to make it work, how to support our less tech-savvy choir members in getting everything up and running, Zoom and earbuds and microphones and speakers and all of that stuff.
“When I looked at our last rehearsal, the smiles on people’s faces, it has been all completely worth it and just turned out to be a great thing.”
A main focus of the virtual season has been the Big Rock Singers video productions, which include colourful covers of famed tunes, such as I am a Man of Constant Sorrow – made famous by the Coen Brothers flick O Brother, Where Art Thou? — as well as Zac Brown Band’s Knee Deep, the Eagles’ Seven Bridges Road.
“That’s how we approached this season, rather than prepare for a concert, we’ve prepared for these projects,” Gruber said. “Our men, they call themselves the Big Rock Men Plus One, have done a number of virtual video projects … They’re contributing three Christmas songs to our virtual videos of Christmas songs.
“And the full choir, we had to cut down to three of our songs and we are producing, what I think will be amazing, virtual videos, including a pentatonic number where our choir members do body percussion where it’s going to look like they’re clapping and tapping each other, but will all be done within the confines of their own Zoom windows.”
The Big Rock Singers also put together a video recording of In Flanders Fields used in the Town of Okotoks’ digital Remembrance Day ceremony earlier this month.
The group met in person at the Cenotaph and were filmed lip-syncing and later recorded the audio for the recording at the Okotoks United Church, the efforts were then edited together to make a music video for the ceremony.
“It has been fantastic,” Gruber said. “The excitement amongst the choir in recording their own video and audio, recording themselves singing each of the songs, learning how to upload them to DropBox and everything, I mean it’s been a great learning experience.
“We did have a couple of outdoor rehearsals on one of our choir members acreages early in the season when the weather was still nice and what a joy to be together, whether virtually or outdoors. It’s a close-knit group and these projects have really been a source of pride and a source of excitement and connection.”
The Big Rock Singers will not be going ahead with its annual Christmas Concert this year, given the state of the restrictions of singing groups and the COVID-19 spiking numbers at large.
“We would like to, but we can’t,” she said. “Our hope is that in our upcoming spring season we’re going to start the season virtually and we’re hoping to move to in-person rehearsals when the public health restrictions permit and then prepare for an outdoor concert in the spring of next year.”
To see the Big Rock Singers’ latest productions go to Facebook.com/BigRockSingers and for more information on the group visit bigrocksingers.com.
