Fall AT Workshop with Christina Fleming Saturday, October 1 5-7PM
Fall Master Class Saturday, October 22 5PM Sunday, October 23 11AM-1PM Fall Soirée Dehlinger Delights Saturday, October 30 7:00PM Winter Recital Sunday, February 5 2PM Winter Soirée Composers of Color Saturday, February 11 5PM VA NATS Friday, February 24 and Saturday, February 25 Mid-Atlantic Regional NATS Friday, March 10 and Saturday, March 11 Spring Master Classes Saturday, May 6 (Times TBD) Spring Soirée Sunday, May 7 (theme and time TBD) Spring Recital Sunday, June 11 (Time TBD)
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As we continue to watch COVID-19 evolve and morph, we will continue to do everything we can to keep our home studio a healthy and safe place to learn and make music. We continue to require any in-person lessons to be to fully-vaccinated students and we ask any student entering our home studio to do so after doing a self health check to determine, to the best of your ability, if moving forward with your scheduled in-person lesson is in everyone’s best interest. We will continue to offer virtual lessons via Zoom and will never hesitate to pivot to an on-line lesson should your health feel compromised.
Learning to live with COVID-19 seemed to be the talk du jour before the latest B5 variant started spreading like wildfire. It seems now that our society has moved into a phase of living with COVID-19. If this is the case, we must continue to do so as cautiously and pragmatically as possible. After all, a singer with an upper-respiratory infection is, at the very least, compromised in their ability to vocalize. With the ever-evolving symptoms of this disease, it’s simplest if we try to avoid contracting and spreading it altogether! Please see this recent Washington Post article about How to Know You’re no Longer Contagious. In particular, note that the CDC guidelines are very nuanced but can be confusing. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/08/01/covid-contagious-period-isolation/ We continue to follow the science and the facts about the pandemic and monitor closely the CDC’s recommendations. The Delta variant COVID-19 spread and case increase has us all particularly concerned.
The Studio will resume regular teaching hours the week of August 17. While we are currently offering in-person lessons to those who are fully-vaccinated, we may pivot to exclusively virtual lessons should numbers continue to rise and CDC recommended guidelines change. We care very much about each and every one of our studio members. This pandemic is far from over and even those who have been fully-vaccinated should resist treating that as a shield. Be smart, be safe, and don’t let your guard down. While we miss working with our students in person, we’ve been delighted at the progress and commitment they have made through virtual lessons. Additionally, we’ve expanded the studio working with students who couldn’t possibly make the commute on any regular basis (from Baltimore, MD to Raleigh, NC, and even Carson City, NV)!
We’re strongly encouraged by the development of treatments and vaccines as well as infection numbers that look like they’re finally starting to decrease. However, we are not yet at a point to consider offering in-person lessons. We plan to continue to teach exclusively online through at least late Spring and reevaluate as vaccinations increase and rates of infection decrease. While we hope to be back to teaching in person within the year we will always continue to offer virtual lessons for those that prefer the platform, for whatever reason. Stay tuned as we are diligently following the latest science. We have made the decision to continue teaching online exclusively, at minimum, through the end of 2020. We will constantly be reevaluating as information becomes available through the fall and into the winter as we can only base our decision on what we currently know. While we remain hopeful for a vaccine that could eradicate this disease, we are equally hopeful for effective treatments to be discovered and social behaviors which will minimize the rate of infections.
COVID-19 is spread largely through aerosols which are transmitted through coughing, sneezing, loud talking, singing, etc… For us and for you to be in our confined teaching space for extended periods of time amidst an ever-increasing viral load throughout the course of a teaching day would bring the risk factors for everyone involved too great to even consider. Furthermore, the long term effects of COVID-19 to the lungs and heart are still being revealed. Contracting this illness for a singer could have potential long term effects which could permanently and severely limit one's ability to sing. The online format works. While we realize this is not a preference for many of you, nor is it ours, we are witnessing tangible and consistent results among all of our students who have committed to continue their studies through the virtual format. And please remember, this is not forever. Again, we are hopeful by adjusting our behavior, we are contributing to a pattern that will help reduce the spread of COVID-19. We have been vigilantly reading scientific research and studies since March to facilitate guiding our decisions. While information was largely confusing and conflicting in the early weeks, most recently there has been unerring consistency in the danger of being in enclosed spaces for extended periods of time. We will continue to research and base our decisions on current science, CDC, and VA Public Health guidelines. For more information on why we have come to this conclusion, here are some of the sources we found to be the most helpful and clear: Professional Organization Resources ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) COVID-19 Resources: linked Here Chorus America COVID-19 Resources: linked Here NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) COVID-19 Resources for Music Educators: linked Here Journal Articles, Research Studies, and Related News Media “Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Theoretical Considerations and Available Evidence” [Michael Klompas, Meghan A. Baker, and Chanu Rhee/JAMA Network]: linked Here “Coronavirus autopsies--A story of 38 brains, 87 lungs and 42 hearts: What we’ve learned from the dead that could help the living” [Ariana Eunjung Cha/Washington Post Article]: linked Here “COVID-19 Risks and Precautions for Choirs” [Juliette O’Keefe/ National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health (Canada)]: linked Here “CU Boulder Professors: Coronavirus is Airborne” [Katie Langford/Boulder Daily Camera]: linked Here “Dr. Malcolm Butler: Why You Should Wear A Mask (It’s the Air You Share)” [Dr. Malcolm Butler/The Wenatchee World]: linked Here “Innovations and Experimentations in Distanced Choral Singing” [Fahad Siadat/NewMusicUSA]: linked Here “Safer Singing During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: What We Know and What We Don’t” [Voice Foundation/Journal of Voice]: linked Here “The Future of Work—The Good, The Challenging, & The Unknown” [Jared Spataro/Microsoft 365]: linked Here “Unprecedented International Coalition Led by Performing Arts Organizations to Commission COVID19 Study” / “Performing Arts Aerosol Study Preliminary Findings” [Mark Spede and James Weaver, et. al./National Federation of State High School Associations]: linked Here & Here “When Will It Be Safe to Sing Again?” [Alex Marshal/New York Times]: linked Here During this time of social unrest, we would feel complicit if we were to remain silent. We want to be perfectly clear with our former, current and future students where we stand.
What we are witnessing in this time of social unrest is the ongoing struggle of humanity to confront the inequalities of oppressive human systems. This is an unfortunate yet absolutely necessary part of the process to achieve a social order which honors all of humanity. While we are not optimistic that we will see such a society in our lifetime, looking through the lens of history, we are very hopeful that over the course of future generations, the rapidly coalescing global community will demand such a world. Black lives matter. Speaking of George Floyd's death, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated in a June 11, 2020 article in the Washington Post: “His death amplified the pain, the frustration, the fear that so many of our fellow Americans live with day in and day out. The protests that have ensued speak not only to his killing, but to the centuries of injustice toward African Americans.” And a friend recently sent us an article from the blogger, Seth Godin, in which he states: “The systemic, cruel and depersonalizing history of Black subjugation in my country has and continues to be a crime against humanity. It’s based on a desire to maintain power and false assumptions about how the world works and how it can work. It’s been amplified by systems that were often put in place with mal-intent, or sometimes simply because they felt expedient. It’s painful to look at and far more painful to be part of or to admit that exists in the things that we build.” And lastly, Dr. John Wilkerson (Kerry’s father), stated in his sermon on May 31, 2020: "The reign of God is wherever the poor and marginalized are lifted up, and their needs are met, rather than being ignored or treated with disdain by privileged people who are in control, politically, socially, racially and economically. Centuries of biblical interpretation have attempted to spiritualize or minimize the reality that the bible is a book by, about and for the poor and marginalized peoples of the world. It not only says that God blesses and loves such victims of oppressive human systems but also that such people are in fact God’s agents and leaders in rejecting and dismantling such systems built upon oppression and inequality.” Black lives matter. Through the years, we cannot count how many students and/or parents of students have thanked us for providing a ‘safe place’ for them to learn and grow in their singing. We feel this is, by far, the highest compliment we have ever received. The Talamantes Wilkerson Voice Studio is open to all, closed to none. We like to think of ourselves as a small studio with a big heart. Regardless of country of origin, immigration status, race, creed, religion or sexual orientation, all are welcome to join us in our continuous effort to create an inclusive community that calls, equips and sends singers into this world to be a strong voice for all of humanity. We truly believe the power of singing and the universal language of music are capable of transforming the world in which we live for the better. Danielle Talamantes Kerry Wilkerson |
AuthorThis page is a platform for Danielle & Kerry to share information and thoughts on current events. Feel free to contact them if you have questions on any statements made here. Archives
September 2022
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