The Washington Chorus: Together, We Can Make a Positive Difference
Join us every Thursday at 5 pm EST for TWC TV, a talk-show style live show celebrating the joy and art of singing together. Pictured here: arts critic Patrick D. McCoy is interviewed by TWC Executive Director Stephen Marc Beaudoin in our April 2 TWC TV debut show.
In this unprecedented time of challenge and change during the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic, The Washington Chorus wants to make a positive difference, especially through the lens of our mission.
With that in mind, here are five ways we’re working right now to make a positive difference with our community of friends, audience members, musicians, staff, board, and volunteers:
Paying musicians, artists, and staff.
Musicians and artists are the heart of TWC’s work in building a better world through singing together. TWC is proudly committed to paying all musicians and artists with whom we collaborate – singers, pianists, conductors, stage managers, guest soloists and ensembles, etc – some or all of their contracted fees, even in the event of cancellation of rehearsals and performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of April 9, we have already paid out more than $11,000 to these artists and intend to pay out much more in the event of additional cancellations in the months ahead.
Additionally, TWC continues to employ our core artistic and management staff team (Bookkeeper, Associate Conductor, Donor and Patron Services Manager, Director of Production and Community, Deputy Director, Executive Director, and Artistic Director) at 100% of their FTE and salary/benefit levels, with no furloughs or layoffs.
Bringing our community of singers together.
Monday night has long been a TWC rehearsal night, and our community of 150+ singers have made it clear that especially now, having a regular Monday evening gathering is essential: to sing, to connect, to build community. Every Monday we now offer a free TWC Mondays online gathering for our community of singers called TWC Mondays, featuring TWC Artistic Director Christopher Bell and special guests leading vocal exercises, diction and vocal technique coaching, and rehearsing music we can’t wait to be singing for you again soon.
Sharing music and joy with and for you online – for free.
We asked you: what do you most want or need at this time? And how can we best support you through the lens of our mission right now?
You answered resoundingly: we want to be inspired, we want connection to singing and music, and we want connection to community.
So on April 2, we launched TWC TV: a new weekly live-streamed and recorded show online, celebrating the joy and art of singing together. TWC TV is a lively talk-show, hosted by TWC Executive Director Stephen Marc Beaudoin, with special guests, live in-home musical performances, special archival recording releases, and interactive quiz shows. Already, several hundred people have tuned in to watch TWC TV, and we hope you’ll join us every Thursday at 5 pm EST for this unique new program. Our April 9 TWC TV guests are Washington Performing Arts CEO Jenny Bilfield, internationally acclaimed opera singer Sidney Outlaw, and DC based professional singers Susan and Jerry Kavinski; and our April 16 guests are Sister Cities Girlchoir founder Alysia Lee, TWC alto Leslie Lewis, and Advisory Board for the Arts CEO Chris Denby.
The Washington Chorus is also sharing the extraordinary talent of our community of singers by releasing at-home musical performances from our singers across our social media channels, especially on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you to our TWC community of singers for stepping forward in this bold and creative way!
Listening and learning.
Much of our time right now is spent listening and learning together with all of you, in service to understanding how this global pandemic is impacting you, your families, and loved ones, and so that you know TWC is here for you now and in the future. Our staff and board have spent many hours in conversation with TWC supporters, we’ve surveyed you online, and we continue to seek your feedback as we all navigate this challenging time together. Thank you for the many ways you are talking and engaging with us.
This global pandemic may feel large and incomprehensible, but it is deeply personal for us: the TWC community has been personally impacted by the COVID-19/coronavirus outbreak in so many ways. Members of our singing community have lost jobs or been furloughed; some have lost friends or family members who have passed due to the virus. We are deeply saddened by these losses and feel a special urgency in finding ways we can continue to give back and support us all in moving through this challenging time. Your ideas and feedback are always welcome at [email protected].
Harnessing leadership support to move forward creatively.
Before coming to our wider community of friends to open conversations about not only how TWC moves forward into the future but what support we need to do so, we have first wanted TWC leadership to come together to align on what the organization’s leadership can do at this time to support us in moving forward.
There is some news to share on this front: TWC Artistic Director Christopher Bell and Executive Director Stephen Marc Beaudoin have stepped forward to generously offer a $20,000 salary give-back by June 30, 2020, positioned as a challenge to the TWC board of directors to support TWC with at least $20,000 in new unrestricted financial gifts (above and beyond board members’ existing generous support), also by June 30, 2020. As of April 9, this challenge has been enthusiastically met by the TWC board of directors, resulting together in over $40,000 in new support for The Washington Chorus. Our board of directors and staff co-leaders are commended for this generous show of support, and we know it is one of many ways that leadership can step forward to support TWC in moving forward creatively.
Our aim now is to harness the power of that generous match to raise an additional $40,000 in support by June 30, 2020, so that we can continue to bring singing, creativity, and joy to our community. If you’d like to find out more information about this opportunity, please contact Executive Director Stephen Marc Beaudoin at [email protected], Deputy Director Emma Moores at [email protected] or Board Chair Chris Denby at [email protected].
Additionally, here are two important resources we’d like to share about more ways that choirs and musicians are making a positive difference at this moment:
VoxCorona – founded by TWC pro-core tenor Jerry Kavinski and professional singer Susan Kavinski, VoxCorona is a new relief fund to support professional vocalists in the DC metro region who have lost income due to contract cancellations because of COVID-19/coronavirus. Their aim is to raise and disburse $50,000 to over 100 professional singers in the region, and already as of April 9 they’ve raised over $12,000 to date. Click here to learn more.
ArtistRelief.org – founded by a collective of arts grantmakers across the U.S., this is a newly announced relief fund that intends to award $50 million in direct grants to working artists whose lives have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. These $5,000 awards to active practicing artists will be awarded through a competitive application process; details can be found online here.
Thank you for the many ways you are showing up for yourself, your families, your loved ones, and your communities at this challenging time for our country and our world. The Washington Chorus believes our world is better when we sing and create together, and hope that the ways we’re showing up with and for you right now are making a positive difference – for you and for the world.