16 - Resilience

Renaissance Man - Philip Brunelle and Music

An apt title for this episode might be How a Choral Director Works Through a Pandemic (and Other Adversities). In facing the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, Philip recalls, "my reaction was—become creative. What are the opportunities to share music in a new way, in a new dimension?" That's our main focus in this episode, on the ways in which a choral director pivots in the face of a situation that literally threatens choral music. There was a lot to learn, and a lot that's now changed. Philip remarks, "We know there's no going back. we can be in a space, we can sing... but there's an audience beyond the room, so it's going to have to be streamed. We have to think about the audience in the venue and the audience watching on their screen." At the root of it all is a mindset: "When something comes at you that you are not expecting, don't panic. Panic will get you nowhere, except down a path you don't want to go."