Live applause

Just after 4 p.m. yesterday, I heard live applause in a concert setting for the time in over a year. And I almost wept.

The choral concert at Webster University took place outdoors. Under brilliant blue sky. In temperate weather. With minimal wind. With our masks on, both on stage and in the audience. With contact tracing information being gathered.

And loads of happiness. We were live!

My colleagues Trent Patterson and Stuart Chapman Hill had been rehearsing our choral ensembles outdoors since Spring Break, sometimes in heat, sometimes in cold, sometimes (as Dr. Patterson said) when it sounded like I-44 was in the middle of campus.

The result was a gift. In-person and live music-making. Singing together. St. Cecilia was smiling.

After the concert, after most families had departed, I noticed that the eight or nine faculty members who were present were all gathered ’round talking. This was the first time in well over a year that we’d all been in the same place at the same time. No wonders at all that we needed to bask in each other’s company and catch up on our lives!

The concert was on the Browning Hall patio, one whole floor below street level, with a natural amphitheater acoustic.

Chorale.

Aurelia.

Chamber Singers.