A Letter from Catherine Dehoney

President and CEO, Chorus America

Dear choral colleagues,

I spent election night watching a movie to keep anxiety at bay, with brief breaks to check on the news. Every update on the vote count felt like another confirmation of the division present in our country and the uncertainty we all face. At one point, my husband Bill turned to me with a tired sigh and said, “Choruses are great, but I don’t think you can sing your way out of this.”  

As this article is published, votes are still being counted in the 2020 United States general election - though for months now, the choral field has been using the power of our art to encourage the public to make their voices heard in this much-anticipated event. Our Chorus Impact Study has consistently found that choristers exhibit remarkably high levels of civic leadership, and the projects of these choruses and composers certainly live up to those research findings.

As U.S. Congress and the Administration consider additional forms of COVID-19 relief, Chorus America and our advocacy partners have developed a new statement outlining policies to support the arts. So far, over 40 organizations have signed on in support of this statement. Please feel free to use the talking points included to help fuel your advocacy efforts with elected officials and make the case for arts support.

Read the full statement here:

Federal agencies are quickly getting guidelines out the door on various relief provisions and mandates, particularly on the Paycheck Protection Program which launched today. Highlights of the past few days include:

The federal government is quickly enacting new forms of federal relief in response to the COVID-19 crisis, with two relief packages signed into law and a third underway. Here is a summary of what's happened so far, including what kinds of relief are available for nonprofit organizations.

Chorus America is working with our advocacy partners to stay on top of the latest developments and advocacy alerts as the third relief package moves through Congress. 

Congress is quickly deciding the contents of a massive COVID-19 relief bill. It's time for the choral community across the U.S. to speak up for the artists and arts organizations that have been affected by COVID-19.

On May 9, the National Endowment for the Arts announced the recipients of its second round of 2018 grants. We are excited to see many of our partners and choral organizations represented on the list of awarded grants in arts education, presenting and multidisciplinary works, and music, shown at the end of this announcement.