COVID curtails choir singing at one Cape church at Christmas

At St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, there was no congregational singing in the Christmas Eve candlelight service.

Since September, the church at 1900 Cape LaCroix Road has been holding both virtual and in-person services because of the pandemic without people in the pews singing hymns.

On Christmas Eve, there was one, and only one, piece of vocal music performed.

Pastor Mike Malone's son, Patrick, was masked as he sang "Silent Night" from as far back in the sanctuary as he could be and still be inside the worship area.

"It's all very necessary but it's very strange as well," said Chris Goeke, who has directed St. Mark's choir for a total of 20 years.

Indoor group singing deemed dangerous

National Public Radio reports a six-month research study on the singing transmission of aerosol particles is underway and is being conducted jointly by the University of Maryland and the University of Colorado-Boulder.

"Singing in a room for an extended period of time, in close contact with lots of people and no ventilation, is a recipe for disaster," said Shelly Miller, one of the researchers.

Miller and her fellow researchers found singers, as well as certain wind and brass instrumentalists, generate respiratory aerosols at high rates.

In other words, they spew a lot of droplets into the air when they warble or blow.

Jose-Luis Jimenez, another researcher on the aerosol project, explained the physics.

"You have the air that's coming out on your respiratory tube, your mouth, and your nose, and there's some liquid that's lining all of your respiratory system," he says.

"When the air is going very quickly, it can basically grab a little bit of that material and put it in a particle, and then you expel it out into the air. Anything that makes the air go faster or more strongly or produce more air is putting out more respiratory particles. If you're singing, you're breathing in a lot of air, you're breathing out very forcefully, and you're also moving your vocal cords. The vocal cords are wet, they're covered in this fluid, they're vibrating, and that can also produce more particles," Jimenez continued.

The music advocacy organization Chorus America reported 54 million Americans, more than 15% of the nation's population, participated in organized group singing in 2019.

Government input

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), citing a case in Washington state, had earlier discouraged group singing during COVID.

"SARS-CoV-2 [COVID-19] might be highly transmissible in certain settings, including group singing events," according to a May CDC report.

The CDC's guidance for leaders of faith-based organizations is they suspend or at least decrease use of choirs and musical ensembles as well as congregational singing and chanting. The recommendation was removed from CDC's website within a week.

NPR reported the advice was taken down because it had not been cleared with the White House.

Precautions at Southeast

Goeke, who is also a Southeast Missouri State professor of music with a concentration on applied voice and opera, said SEMO has taken a conservative approach, mindful of CDC recommendations, with vocal students.

"Singers stand 12 feet apart in a very large space and perform for a limited amount of time," said Goeke, an Iowa native who has seen the coronavirus impact his own family.

"My wife Lori and I have been caring for our little granddaughter because our daughter and son-in-law are both recovering from COVID," he said.

Praying for normalcy

"The absence of live singing is difficult; it's been rough," said Goeke, who said he hopes the day will not be far off when the 10-to-15 members of his St. Mark Lutheran choir will again gather to rehearse.

"Being as safe as possible is the best course of action now," he added.