Coming Home; Together Again!

Abstract

Coming Home; Together Again! Carole Blankenship (bio) From the President In the last few weeks and months, we have experienced a genuine reunion with loved ones, friends, and whole communities that we have missed during most of 2020 and half of 2021. Some of these gatherings have been bittersweet reunions due to the loss of dear friends and family. The gatherings may well include immense relief that we have survived one of the hardest times of our lives. Amid the many tribulations and the financial failures of the time, COVID-19 may have been cruelest to the performing arts. Many performing artists have not had access to required rehearsal spaces, teaching studios, and stages and concert halls, resulting in loss of income, livelihood, and even self-worth. COVID-19 kept us away from people who encourage us in our art, including our collaborators and mentors. Students of all ages have been relegated to online learning from their homes, often in bedrooms. Students in the performing arts have been left to learn lines and music in a vacuum, outcomes being video auditions or virtual performances on Zoom. Most of us were completely without opportunities to be part of something bigger than ourselves and all that goes with live collaboration and performance. As I write this, many of my colleagues in the arts are planning to be with others in person after functioning virtually for many months. Calendars are filling with dates and times for rehearsals and performances! We are planning performances on our stages and in our halls, and, thrilled to collaborate with each other again, we will gather to sing solo or in harmony in acoustic spaces built just for that purpose! And NATS is here to welcome you back home to live workshops, live auditions, and an in-person national conference! As we schedule and program concerts, NATS has been working for months to help guide the re-entry to in-person performances and auditions. In collaboration with partner organizations the NATS Voice Science Advisory Committee has penned the following statement. JOINT STATEMENT ON SARS-COV-2 VACCINATIONS AND BEST HEALTH PRACTICES The National Association of Teachers of Singing Voice Science Advisory Committee, the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, the Barbershop Harmony Society, the Performing Arts Medicine Association, the Pan American Vocology Association, Opera America, and National Collegiate Choral Organization strongly recommend that all singing teachers, choral conductors, collaborative pianists, and singers eligible to receive an FDA authorized vaccine follow CDC guidance and become fully vaccinated as soon as possible. [End Page 153] We collectively support public health education efforts at the local, state, and national levels that offer accurate information about vaccine efficacy and safety and that encourage all persons to become vaccinated. We recommend that unvaccinated teachers, conductors, collaborative pianists, and singers continue to follow COVID-19 prevention and mitigation practices that have been effective in reducing the spread of the disease in indoor public areas. These include but are not limited to the use of masks, physical distancing, increased ventilation, reduced contact time, regular cleaning of common surfaces, and vigorous hand washing. [For the full statement with bibliographic reference, see https://www.nats.org/_Library/COVID_19_Resource_Docs/VSAC_STATEMENTv2_-_June_23_2021.pdf.] We are indebted to the scientists who have generated the vaccinations that make coming together possible. Those of us who are vaccinated can re-enter the world of live singing with a certain confidence. Those of us who are not vaccinated will be advocating for themselves and communicating their special status to others—a regrettable consequence of almost two years of the pandemic and the extremely divisive political rhetoric around the vaccines. However, singing professionals have access to the facts that receiving the vaccines and asking students and clients to divulge their vaccination status will keep all around them well and free of the virus. Many NATS chapters and regions already have enjoyed live fall events and auditions. Regarding the NATS Artist Award auditions, NATS has created a virtual region for our members in Canada who may not be able to travel to a live preliminary audition and for singers who have medical issues due to COVID-19. NATS invites you home to New York...