| More than a year later… What’s new? |
| In March 2020 (like most group activities,) Living Room Choir moved to Zoom, with no idea what the future held. In September of that same year, choir director Kaitie Ty Warren went on maternity leave. Sara Stutz stepped into the role of director, assisted by Deborah Leeds, and kept the Living Zoom-Room open through the entire winter! Despite the twists and turns of 2020, a core group of singers continued to meet and sing regularly, mostly on Zoom. (Be sure to check out the video below of May It Be, one of our beautiful souvenirs from this strange time!) Only very recently, some members have begun to meet outdoors to sing as well. The LRC community has welcomed multiple babies during these times of separation: Luca (Kaitie’s baby, pictured above, born in September 2020), Naomi (born in the Spring 2021) and 4 grandbabies, including a set of twins! Due to complications, Kaitie wasn’t able to return full time as quickly as planned. Instead, Kaitie and Sara co-led a 12-week choir session on Zoom. While “it’s just not the same” seems to be a common mantra when it comes to singing on Zoom, this choir found innovative ways to connect each other, as well as to the music. The community continued to thrive, sing, and support each other! (See a clip of T’dumela, presented by Kaitie and Luca, for an example of one of the songs we sung together.) |
| Now, we’ve arrived at re-opening, and a lot of new decision-making awaits. The world is, once again, navigating uncharted waters. Living Room Choir hopes to re-open in person with a 12-week Fall Session, to be announced more formally late this summer. (We hope to once again be located at Grace Lutheran Church in El Cerrito, on Thursdays at 7pm.) However, we recognize that the Zoom offerings allowed many folks to be there who could otherwise not, and that, even by Fall, some of our dear ones still may not be able to sing safely in person due to any number of variables. So, we hope to continue offering something in an online format as well. Kaitie also hopes to create a new series of events that are more baby-friendly – as soon as it feels safe enough to gather babies and families of mixed ages together. If you want to be kept in the loop as these plans solidify, simply continue to follow our website’s blog or join our email list. This email list will only ever be used for choir-related events, and we try to email minimally. If you would like to be kept informed of even the small last-minute gatherings, which sometimes happen, please write thelivingroomchoir@gmail.com with the subject heading ADD ME! However, we already have two upcoming summer events are open to all – whether you’ve ever sung with us before or not! One is in person (led by Sara) and one is on Zoom (led by Kaitie). |
| Sara Sings in the Park! Come join Living Room Choir for an afternoon sing in the park: John Hinkle Park Amphitheater, Berkeley Sunday, July 18 3:00-4:30 Led by: Sara Stutz (with support from Kaitie Ty Warren) Bring: yourselves, a water bottle, perhaps a simple song you’d like to share, layers of clothing (lots of shade), perhaps a portable chair if you desire. Directions: Get yourself to the Marin Circle Fountain in Berkeley, head up Arlington Ave, take the first right, which is Somerset Place and follow this to the dead end, which is where the amphitheater is. Feel free to bring friends along – this will be a friendly, casual, summer-time sing. This is a mask optional event. RSVP helpful (but you’re welcome if you spontaneously show up) smstutzpt@gmail.com Questions? Feel free to e-mail, text or call Sara 510-375-5420 Note: If another group is using this space, we will move to another location in the park, somewhere on the grass behind the amphitheater or above the amphitheater. |
| Community Singing on Zoom with Kaitie! A one-day workshop exploring community experience through community music – online! On Zoom (you must register ahead of time at this link to receive the meeting link) Saturday, July 24th, 5-6:30pm Led by: Kaitie Ty Warren (with support from Sara Stutz) Suggested donation (no one ever turned away for lack of funds) Completely open to newcomers and people who consider themselves non-singers Because we will be connecting visually, we encourage folks to have their cameras on, but it is not required This event will be recorded, and the recording will be made available after the fact to registered participants. Some of what we’ll explore: -circle singing: building a song together as a group using the looper, one track at a time -incorporating American Sign Language into some of our favorite choir songs so we can watch each other sing, even over Zoom -singing to each other call-and-response, and layer songs, using heterophony (singing out of sync) and a looper |
| Stay safe! Go slowly. It’s been quite a year. We look forward to singing with you, in person or via Zoom, as soon as the time comes. Love, Kaitie Ty, Sara Stutz, and Living Room Choir |
The Living Room Choir 