Page 16 - Fall 2021 Tags and Swipes

Tags and Swipes, Fall 2021

Merrimack Valley Chorus

When it rains… it pours! In MVA we like to say “we are nothing if not FLEXIBLE!”

You will remember, from previous issues of Tags and Swipes, that MVA lost the use of our Wilmington
rehearsal facility, early in 2020. An energetic Hall Search team checked out many facilities in numerous
towns and narrowed the search to three possibilities – and then the pandemic restrictions hit – and our
efforts were immediately halted. (The only silver lining to this particular cloud is that we have not been
required to pay any rental fees in the past seventeen months.) Our risers, our files, our audio equipment –
all had to find temporary storage in the homes of members and their gracious families.

I am happy to announce that we are contracting for space rental in Andover – at the Temple Emanuel –
which features a very large function hall as well as smaller rooms we might use as break out space. It’s
exciting to look forward to being together in a new space. We are also looking into a better quality of
media for sharing our rehearsals virtually – in support of those members who may not be ready to return
to singing indoors right away.

One of our first projects in our new rehearsal space will be to record a virtual Concert – with a number of
the repertoire songs we have been rehearsing “together” on zoom for months. We plan to share this
recording with veterans groups, senior centers and nursing homes, just as we shared our Holiday Concert
recording toward the end of 2020, our way of staying present with our audiences and offering them the
entertainment they need – in a safe manner.

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North Atlantic Region 1 Sweet Adelines