How a nonprofit childrens’ choir conquered the challenges of the 2020 pandemic.

Philadelphia, (December 20, 2020) – When the pandemic first hit in March, Commonwealth Youthchoirs’ (CY) 2020 concert season was in full swing with over 60 live performances planned and two international tours all lined up. And then COVID struck. Rehearsals and concerts were canceled, staff was reduced, and tours were called off. The challenges of replicating the choir experience online seemed monumental. It would have been easy to shut down. But, knowing that music is a lifeline for its young singers who lost so much this year, staff sprung into action to find new ways to sing together. By April 5, singers resumed rehearsals online and began recording themselves singing at home individually. The recordings were edited together to produce videos like One Voice that were featured in virtual Spring concerts, where the organization carried on with time-honored traditions.  

In August, organizers of the 2020 Democratic National Convention offered CY the opportunity to produce a video of the National Anthem that included singer representatives from every state in the nation. The hitch – they needed the project completed in just two weeks! Singers worked around the clock learning and recording a new arrangement of the song. Staff turned around individual singer recordings in record time and sent them off to DNC producers for post-production. No one inside the organization knew which singers would be featured or how the videos would be edited together until the performance aired live on national television. The result was a resounding success with #dncchoir trending on Twitter within seconds of the broadcast starting. 

“It was an incredibly energetic and fulfilling 10 days of connecting with singer representatives from around the United States, its islands, and territories,” says Co-Artistic Director, Elizabeth Parker. “Watching the anthem at the opening of the DNC was moving for so many — together, we heard the empowered voices of our youth; it was more impactful than we could have ever predicted.”

Local and national producers took note and new opportunities began to pour in. In November, CY’s rendition of Elton John’s Philadelphia Freedom kicked off the 99th Annual “Philadelphia Award” ceremony and the Philadelphia Citizen’s 3rd Annual “Ideas We Should Steal” Festival. To date, the video has 8,000 views on YouTube. And on Christmas morning, a video of CY singers performing Jingle Bells opened “The Today Show” with Hoda and Jenna. This project was put together in just four days all while wrapping up another 8 video projects that were already in progress to help singers continue with CY holiday traditions.  

Sung by the Senior class, CY’s final project in 2020 is entitled Hope for Resolution. The timeliness of this piece is significant as composers, Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory, intentionally weave together an anti-apartheid song sung to free Nelson Mandela with a European chant. Parker says, “Hope for Resolution speaks deeply and meaningfully to our Singers and their wishes for justice, hope and peace. We introduce our Senior class to the larger CY community with Hope for Resolution every December to foreground the critical importance of their voices in our future.” 

The song’s meaning and lyrics remain a testament to CY’s continued commitment to transform the lives of young people through the power of making music together and to conquer any obstacle that stands in the way of its mission. 

Commonwealth Youthchoirs’ mission is to transform the lives of young people through the power of making music together – one song at a time. Its family of programs include: Find Your Instrument, Garden State Girlchoir, Keystone State Boychoir, New Jersey Boychoir, and Pennsylvania Girlchoir. As a nonprofit organization, it serves more than 800 children in the greater Philadelphia and South Jersey region between the ages of 7 and 18, more than half of whom come from under-resourced communities. For more information, visit cychoirs.org. 

Contact Michelle Boyles