Annual Appeal 2020
COVID-19 poses unique challenges for choral education programs like Pittsburgh Girls Choir. The very act of singing – the forceful expulsion of breath to produce sound – is fraught with dangers in a time of pandemic airborne disease.
But in record time, PGC has adapted. In some ways, we’ve even been able to do things which ordinarily would be difficult to arrange for our choristers and families:
- We have already produced a recording of “No Time”, and we will continue to fulfill our mission by producing virtual performances.
- The choristers have had the extraordinary privilege of virtual face-to-face interviews with some of the leading composers of choral music in America today, including Andrea Ramsey, Ola Gjeilo, and the composer of Anne Frank: A Living Voice, Linda Tutas Haugen.
- Our girls have benefitted from master classes taught by Dr. Quinn Patrick Ankrum of University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, whose own solo appearances have included Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, and our own Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
- As a small way to thank our parents, we have now invited the siblings of our youngest choristers to join rehearsals over Zoom.
- Likewise, we have waived tuition for this year’s Choral Camps, asking families only for a small fee to cover the cost of materials.
In the words of our Artistic Director, “We will not be silenced. We will sing on!” And yet grave challenges remain. We are Pittsburgh’s leading single-sex afterschool choral music education program – and our future is at stake. Our role in ensuring gender equity, all that we do to empower the voice of girls, these are what depend on your help. We need you. During these challenging times, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to ensure PGC’s future.