After what seems like an eternity online, choirs in states like NSW and Victoria are now slowly going back to face-to-face singing.
The pandemic might have spawned a myriad of smiling happy Zoom choirs, but virtual group singing can be a poor substitute for the real thing, says Nicki Johnson from Community Music Victoria.
"We don't sing as fully and as freely when we're in front of a screen," Ms Johnson says.
People also report being sick of the sound of their own voice, she adds, as currently there's no easily accessible technology that allows online choir members to hear each other in real time.
Sydney-based chorister John Rothwell found online rehearsing "socially unrewarding".
"Rehearsing by Zoom destroys half the reasons for being in a choir, because you're not with people."
Ms Johnson describes participatory music-making as a social lubricant that helps combat social isolation.
"It accelerates people's ability to feel comfortable and belong to a group," she says.
Singing also benefits physical health and is even used as a therapy for respiratory conditions, even long COVID.
But singing developed the reputation of being a particularly risky activity at the start of pandemic, and this has meant choirs were among the first activities to be restricted, and among the last to be given freedoms.
This has made lockdowns particularly hard for those who depend on them to connect with people.
"I think it's mostly the loneliness and frustration of not being able to connect and experience embodied music-making," Ms Johnson says.
Mr Rothwell understood the need to close down choirs but says, "it really hurt".
And freedoms given to other activities — from community sports to weddings — ahead of any specific advice relating to choirs returning has felt unfair to many in the community music world.
"It's been difficult feeling like there's double standards," says Hunter Valley-based conductor and chorister Mina van Bree.
Uncertainty around whether choirs can rehearse, and under what conditions, has also been an issue for those who earn their income from conducting, especially as venues are reluctant to take a risk if governments do not specifically mention choirs as restrictions lift.
The risk of vocalisation
But perceptions of unfairness aside, what are the COVID-related risks of choir singing?
Singing produces a particularly high level of respiratory particles (aerosols), which could potentially contain coronavirus.
If a singer is infected, they risk infecting others in the room via the air they breathe, especially since singing involves people inhaling deeply as well.
This is exactly what happened back in March 2020 when the Skagit Valley Chorale in Washington held what was to become a fatal rehearsal for two of their members.
Air quality expert Lidia Morawska, from the Queensland University of Technology, has published on the Skagit Valley Chorale outbreak and says poor ventilation was a key factor in preventing aerosols from dissipating.
"It was cold, so the doors and windows were closed and there was no mechanical ventilation," Professor Morawska says.
And studies have shown the infection risk could have been halved with a shorter choir practice, reducing the length of time people were exposed.
What does it take to have a COVID-safe choir?
While many choristers may think that restricting their group to people who are vaccinated will protect them, evidence suggests that vaccination alone is not enough.
Professor Morawska says in addition to vaccination, singers need to improve ventilation and keep their distance from each other.
"Singers need to be at least 1-2 metres apart, the further the better, but accepting that they still need to hear each other.
"The risk remains, but if we have all these layers, we are reducing the risk — and particularly the risk of severe cases."
Some experts also suggest rapid antigen testing immediately before practice or performance could also help reduce the chance of asymptomatic infectious people being present at choir.
Of course, controlling ventilation can be tricky for groups who rehearse in places with windows they can't open, and rely on the building manager to set mechanical controls.
"We only have air conditioning in the venue where we rehearse," Ms van Bree says.
In the absence of regulations governing indoor air quality, Professor Morawska recommends groups check the quality of ventilation in their venue with a handheld carbon dioxide meter (which measures the amount of people's outbreath circulating in the room).
If the meter gives you a high reading and you can't open windows, consider taking a break until levels go down.
While portable air cleaners with HEPA filters can help reduce risk, some experts have warned against the use of devices with unproven technology.
A mixed appetite for risk
COVID restrictions aside, when it comes to deciding if it's safe to return to choir and under what conditions, there's no single answer.
"Everyone's got a different opinion," Ms Johnson says.
"There's a mixed appetite for risk."
Melbourne-based choir director Lorraine Manifold, who loves singing "songs of unity", including in Indigenous languages, doesn't expect her choirs to return until next year.
"We're going to err on the side of caution," she says.
But others can't wait that long.
"Some are so desperate to sing and feel other voices around them, and hear harmony, that they'll do what they need to do to make that happen," Ms Johnson says.
Some groups are still meeting outside when they can.
Alan Smith sings in a ukulele group in Sydney's Breakfast Point that has been rehearsing in a rotunda.
"It's nice because the locals gather around to listen," he says.
But when it's cold that can be hard, and outdoors isn't always best for acoustics or privacy.
'Singers masks' and other tools
The Ballarat Choral Society recently got a grant to trial COVID-safe singing measures under the guidance of experts including Deakin University epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett.
"We've tried all sorts of things," choir president Merle Hathaway says.
As well as ensuring everyone is vaccinated, the choir has found a larger rehearsal space.
They make sure they have breaks in a separate room to give a chance for the air to clear in the rehearsal space.
And they are currently rehearsing with self-made "singers masks", which allow you to inhale deeply without choking.
"They sit way out from your face," Ms Hathaway says.
Most recently the choir bought a cheap CO2 meter to test the ventilation level of their rehearsal room.
The idea, say Ms Hathaway and Professor Bennett, is to have a range of tools to "dial up" protection as required to keep the choir singing, even if the risk of transmission increases.
"There will always be a risk, but we just have to be clever and careful," adds Ms van Bree, who has found singing to dementia patients a rewarding thing to do.
There are certainly many challenges ahead, Ms Johnson says.
Policies that exclude people who are unvaccinated can be hard for a choir that is used to being very inclusive, she says; especially if the people being excluded are already lonely and isolated.
"The big question is how we keep them connected."
Loading...Delta means other activities now have more similar risks to choirs
In these days of "living with COVID", doing things we love or need to do as humans is about finding an acceptable level of risk that also considers the benefits.
And choirs are in some ways less of an outlier than they used to be, according to some experts.
The more infectious Delta strain of SARS-CoV-2 has become a bit of a "leveller" when it comes to comparing choir singing with other activities where people vocalise at close quarters, Professor Bennett says.
Fans cheering in a small indoor sports venue could provide a similar risk, she notes.
People standing or dancing close together in a club, shouting over loud music, is another case in point.
"I think, in effect, Delta has moved more things into the risky groups when it comes to transmission," Professor Bennett says.
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