Photo courtesy of Ellie Wagner.
A musical ensemble seems like something that would be very challenging to continue remotely. However, the pandemic has brought out the creativity within many music educators, as they continue their ensemble work remotely in new and interesting ways. One of these especially creative educators is Professor Rachel Feldman, who runs the choirs on campus. Chorale and Camerata have both faced challenges and had to adapt to remote and socially-distanced learning, but Prof. Feldman created a productive environment for everyone to make music together. One of the most important parts of being in a choir is the social aspect. Many students were feeling deprived of social interaction when we could only see each other behind masks and through computer screens. Prof. Feldman made Chorale a fun place where students could come and see their friends and be social, while also being productive. By utilizing breakout rooms where the only instructions were for students to talk and get to know each other, Chorale remained a place for social interaction even when on Zoom.
In preparation for the fall 2020 semester, Professor Feldman thought a lot about the choir experience as a whole. Students don’t necessarily join the choir just to learn, they also join for the social aspect, which is something that is really challenging in a remote format. Feldman also wanted to teach more music history and theory, because there was less opportunity to actually sing together. Professor Feldman succeeded in making virtual choir to be a good balance of singing, theory, history, and socializing in breakout rooms. When the choirs were able to meet in a hybrid format in the chapel in Spring 2020, Professor Feldman had to change the way she taught choir to accommodate social distancing and singing in a mask, as well as teaching students both in person and remote. She credits the music department, specifically Professor Midge Thomas, for making in-person choir possible through extensive research and informative department meetings to determine how students could sing together safely. She also credits Technology Services for making it possible for remote students to still be able to participate. This semester, the choir is meeting fully in-person in a smaller space. Professor Feldman plans to use a lot of the same techniques that she used in past iterations of choir meetings, including a strong focus on the social aspect of choir.
Professor Feldman’s success as choir director has made an impact on many of her students. Miles Griffin ‘23 says, “I really enjoyed Zoom choir. It was hilarious. The time flew by.” Miles was one of two students who were remote in the second half of the academic year. “Hybrid choir was less than ideal for me, but being able to have sectionals over Facetime was nice”, he added. He says of Prof. Feldman’s teaching, “I like how she gives the students space to talk about the issues going on in our lives and she lets us talk as a group for a few minutes for support. She is very supportive of people’s problems. She seems to be able to relate to us in a way that other professors can’t.” Erin Flanagan ‘24 stated that she initially thought Zoom choir was going to be “terrible”, but she actually ended up having a lot of fun. “I laughed so much. It simply brought me so much joy and it was the highlight of my week.” Erin said about Prof. Feldman, “She’s the greatest. She has a good balance of trying to teach us theory and letting us sing. She is very fair and very passionate about what she does. She does a good job of letting us be ourselves.” Evan Strouse ‘24 noted Prof. Feldman’s choice to teach things other than singing, such as music history and theory, saying, “She really made the best use of our class time by teaching other important things that a choral group should know besides just singing together.”
Although teaching music is tricky during a pandemic, Professor Feldman has handled it wonderfully. After a tough year, the choirs are now meeting fully in-person twice a week. Any students interested in auditioning for the spring semester should email Professor Feldman at rfeldman@conncoll.edu
