Page 38 - Voices-2021-12

QUARTER NOTE

DARE WE SING?

David Freedman, PM2

At the time of this writing, the Portland Gay of local and national performances by various
Men’s Chorus has finished up its holiday concert artists and groups that reflected the trauma we

series, its first live performance in nearly two were going through, and the resilience needed
years. When the pandemic started, we were to sustain one’s self throughout the pandemic.
mere weeks away from performing our fortieth During Thanksgiving, my family had
anniversary concert. It was cancelled as soon a discussion about resilience, and more

as our isolation began. During the entirety of specifically, how some people develop greater
our forty-first season and even into the current resilience than others in getting through hard
year, the question posed most often was, “Dare times. It’s a topic that I’ve come back to a lot
we sing?” recently since there are no easy answers to it.

It was hardly an idle thought. Throughout Having a supportive family or social network,
our last season, all concerts were virtual, each good genetics, a strong moral compass, and a
member recorded lip synchs from our homes strong belief in something greater than ourselves
on cell phones or other cameras. Then all are all good examples in how resilience can

participating members met up for one day of develop. To have all of these and more in an
recordings per concert outdoors in order to individual is one thing. To create that kind of
mitigate the risk of contracting Covid-19. These resilience in a larger group is breathtakingly
were grand experiments in adaptability. It took difficult and requires a persistence of vision

incredible imagination and resources to think that many organizations fail to create, let
of ways to tailor our performances in such a way alone maintain. Above all, it is the strength
that they could reach our audience successfully and support of an organization’s members that
while acknowledging the limitations of our allows the group to flourish and thrive which

isolation. We had no guarantee that there would makes that vision possible.
be an audience, let alone that the concerts would I want to acknowledge my heartfelt gratitude
be successful enough to warrant creating more. to Toastmasters and the Portland Gay Men’s
Thankfully, our audience responded positively, Chorus. I firmly believe that without being

and we were able to continue throughout our involved in these organizations I would have lost
season creating music as best we could within my sanity during this pandemic. Among other
the confines of our homes. We were not the things, resilience also requires a willingness
only ones doing this. I saw numerous examples

38 ONE COMMUNITY