Zoomberry Chorus Recording

Members of the Zoomberry Chorus met at Lebanon Opera House on Sunday, May 7, for their final gathering as an ensemble. After months of rehearsing online, the musicians from the Upper Valley and beyond met not for a performance but for a recording.

Zoomberry was founded by UVMC’s Choral Program Director Patricia Norton in the wake of the COVID-19 shut down. Recognizing that the Juneberry Community Chorus would not be able to meet during this year, Norton created a new ensemble to explore the question: What does it look like to be adventurous musically when you can’t get together to rehearse or perform?

The ensemble rehearsed on Zoom and recorded a virtual choir piece and music composed for Zoom performances. The final piece of the ensemble’s program was a body percussion piece, performed alongside a tap dancer and piano accompaniment, that allowed the musicians to gather safely indoors and perform an ensemble musical work without the risk associated with singing.

Claudia Rahardjanoto, a New York-based dancer and choreographer, visited the Upper Valley for the performance, after months of teaching and rehearsing the body percussion alongside Patricia Norton. Members of the ensemble who were not able to attend participated in the recording session via Zoom, with their faces projected onto a large screen on stage.

Rather than working toward a performance, the ensemble recorded this piece as part of a film that is being created about Zoomberry. Along with the musical performances, interviews and narration will tell the story of the ensemble and their experiences working together during the pandemic. The film is being created by local filmmaker Anna King.