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North Carolina’s <br />“stay at home” order <br />(Executive Order <br />117) had a profound <br />impact on the arts <br />sector. Describe the <br />specific steps your <br />organization took to <br />comply with <br />Executive Order 117. <br />The two primary goals of Voices are first, to provide a setting for our <br />members to enjoy singing, and second, to engage the community in <br />the appreciation of cultural heritage embodied in choral music. NC <br />Executive Order 117 was published on March 16, 2020, which banned <br />large gatherings. Cantari was scheduled to perform “Brasiliero” on <br />March 21, 2020. That concert was immediately cancelled. Prepaid <br />tickets were refunded and the Brasilian band and soloist/composer <br />lost this engagement. The community lost a highly anticipated <br />concert of mixed classical and contemporary Brasilian music. <br />The VOICES Board immediately suspended in-person rehearsals for <br />the Voices chorus, moving quickly to remote rehearsals by Zoom. <br />Eventually in-person rehearsals were cancelled for the rest of the <br />season. VOICES chose not to close operations. Instead, VOICES paid <br />for remote rehearsals and sing-alongs through June to support the <br />well-being of our members. Stephen Futrell, Artistic Director, <br />immediately began testing remote strategies with Cantari that would <br />be necessary to produce virtual recordings. “Don’t Be Afraid” <br />(Allyson Reigh, arr J. McMillan) was recorded by Cantari last Spring <br />and is currently in final video editing. <br />The VOICES Board worked with our Artistic Director through June <br />and July in an iterative manner as the face of the COVID pandemic <br />changed. A committee of members was established to discuss <br />options and advise the Board on approaches that would encourage <br />and support members. Several programming drafts, research into <br />strategies to reduce COVID transmission when singing, and two more <br />member surveys later, the Board settled on a budget and a strategy. <br />The Fall 2020 session currently has 75 members, as anticipated from <br />member survey data. The majority of prior members state they will <br />return when in-person rehearsals resume. For the Fall, VOICES will <br />record and release a set of 4-5 “Songs of Hope and Thanksgiving” <br />on our YouTube channel and other avenues such as FaceBook in an <br />effort to lift community spirits. VOICES members demonstrated full <br />support for this endeavor on a recent survey. Members were willing <br />to participate in on-site live rehearsals of octets wearing face masks <br />and shields with 10-12’ separation while the remaining members <br />attend and rehearse from home via Zoom. Required audio equipment <br />and PPE for safe and clear on-site rehearsals/recording was <br />purchased to facilitate these arrangements. <br />Once the music is mastered, singers will be recorded in groups of <br />eight, or they may opt to record themselves at home. Dr. Futrell has <br />the requisite skills in audio-video production and access to <br />sophisticated editing equipment in his position at Elon University. <br />VOICES will pay a graduate student to edit the video recording after <br />Dr. Futrell is finished with audio editing. The intent is to stream <br />“Songs of Hope and Thanksgiving” once to the local community and <br />through members’ social networks with appropriate pre-event <br />publicity. <br />Programming for Spring virtual music repertoire is in development <br />now. VOICES does not expect live concerts will be possible until the <br />Fall of 2021. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: C98A761A-0DA8-4BBF-83ED-372E91635D47