One of the most incredible experiences during the Christmas season was when I was a member of a local choral society in the mid-1990’s. It was December, and choirs from across the province were invited to join in on a mass choir to sing together with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at the Centennial Concert Hall. We sang through the entire Handel’s Messiah – cover to cover! It was powerful! The experience brought the magnitude of the birth of Christ to life as our 300 plus voices, with the symphony, raised the roof of the Concert Hall! We closely followed the gestures and prompts from Winnipeg’s own Bramwell Tovey, as he conducted both choir and orchestra! It was magnificent!

This year, choir practice and performances have been put on hold. COVID-19 has dampened the ability to practice, but it has not dampened the hearts of Manitoba’s choirs to share their love for music.

Jenny Steinke-Magnus is the Executive Director of the Manitoba Choral Association (MCA).

Magnus says the pandemic has thrown all of our choirs into a loop – but it’s important to keep choral programs going.

“With all of our choirs not being able to gather and rehearse and perform together, it’s really been a struggle, and so a lot of choirs at the moment have put their activities on pause, or some are rehearsing online,” she says.

“They really do need community support right now, because at the other end when we do come out of this pandemic, choirs are going to be eager to get together again and perform in person, and so they need to survive the pandemic in order to be able to do that on the other side.”

“Going into 2021 we’re not really sure how long these lock-downs are going to take place, but we really want to make sure we continue to support them.”

Recently the MCA gave out awards to performers to applaud the excellence of music programs in the province. “We are trying to get the word out there that choirs and individuals are still making music together, they’re still contributing to the choral community, and it’s still so important that we continue to support them.”

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Steinke-Magnus shares how important it is for choral leaders to persevere through the pandemic, and continue encouraging their choirs to practice as best as they can during these restrictions.

“Many choral leaders are working really hard behind the scenes, and they’re adapting to new technology and things like that,” she says, “But it’s so important to continue to offer them support and recognition as they pave the way forward, so they can continue to lead.”