Right now, some students are excited to continue their education remotely. As for other students, the cancellation of schools is leaving them feeling deprived. These students are not able to see their peers on a daily basis like they once had, students are worrying about not being able to attend prom or walk during graduation, and those engaged in sports or other extracurricular activities feel like a part of them was taken away as shelter-in-place orders started coming about.
That’s how a San Bernardino County, California high school choir when the 35 schools apart of the Chino Valley Unified School District closed on March 13, 2020. The Chino Hills High School choir was devastated because that meant their annual Chino Valley Unified School District Choral Festival that was scheduled for this month would also be canceled. They’ve practiced for months and were looking forward to singing in front of their community.
Choir student, Camille Cortes, had partaken in choir every year in high school. She, like her other choir peers, was hurt by the news.
“It was really devastating for all of us knowing that we might not get the opportunity to sing together anymore. Our choir is more of a family,” she said.
But not all hope was lost. Inspired by quarantined Italians singing together from their balconies, a group of 19 Chino choir students decided to sing together with the help of technology. Each choir student sung their assigned part alone from behind a camera and sent their video to an editor. Cortes said it took her about two hours to record her singing part perfectly. The editor then worked for an additional 36 hours to piece the videos together to recreate the performance they had been eager to participate in.
“The students have come together even though they are apart and contributed to this time in our history and I think they’re so happy about that,” Imee Perius, the director of communications for Chino Valley Unified School District, said to CNN. “This is the kind of silver lining that we all need right now.”
I hope more students will be able to connect via technology in a similar manner, whether it’s to learn, socialize, or to put on a performance like this choir. Although technology doesn’t replace being together in person, it’s a great alternative we should all be grateful for.
Listen to the students’ performance below. They are incredible; it brought tears to my eyes!
