Update January 2026:
Public health guidance has gotten even more stripped down since we last updated this page, so while we feel the need for an update, we lack actual actions to suggest. Please be aware that there are new, previously-eradicated illnesses resurfacing (like measles), and newly mutated once-mild colds and flues that have become more complex in recent years. Many of our choir members and even our leaders have complex health pictures, chronic conditions, and/or vulnerability in their families at home.

We believe community needs to protect and advocates for the more vulnerable members of its population to the best of its ability. Our hope is that we can continue to nurture this choir in the direction of general community care, transparency, and communication as we all continue to navigate this complex world. We’ll continue to follow the guidelines below, until or unless better practices emerge. If you have access to more updated information than we do about best practices for public health, we invite you to reach out to us anytime.

Page made January 2025:

This choir is led by Covid-conscious songleaders/humans, and contains folks with varying needs and comfort levels. Singing together is a high risk activity for airborne viruses and COVID is one of the most complex and contagious viruses in the world, so when we made the decision to sing together in person again, we did so only by evolving slowly in our practices to keep group safety in front of mind. We will always utilize ventilation, and have an Aranet CO2 monitor that usually reads around 600ppm indoors. If you have special needs to help keep you safe, please talk to us about it.

Current guidelines are:

  1. Stay home if you’re actively sick
  2. If you’re on the mend from sickness, make sure you’ve taken at least 2 negative Covid tests at least 24 hours apart before returning to class
  3. If you have been exposed or aren’t sure, please mask up that week til you know more. I will bring N95 singers’ masks with me.
  4. If you were in a risky situation (ie, unmasked in an airport or crowded event) consider masking, distancing, and/or rapid testing before class to protect others
  5. If you do contract COVID or something similarly contagious, we ask that you let us know. We will let the group know that there was an (anonymous) exposure so people can make informed decisions and not risk transmitting it further
  6. Learn and respect the Bird-Cat-Dog method of gathering. All comfort levels are welcome in the Living Room

These guidelines are relaxed from what they once were, and they may continue to change over time. Ultimately, we are establishing a culture of care for one another. When we remember that our choices affect one another, we are practicing Ubuntu. We are an Ubuntu choir, we are living and practicing Ubuntu in everything we do.

Teaching mask exception to the guidelines: If a songleader is on the mend from something or would normally mask, know that we may not be able to do so easily as a teacher. This is because teaching is heavily reliant on visual facial cues and expressions, as well as directing sound and diction which all becomes harder and more exhausting in a mask. We may at times choose to rely more on distance than masking but not without due diligence to make sure the illness is truly on the mend and reliably testing negative for Covid-19.