Shelter in Place, San Francisco, California
July 1, 2020: In Harmony
I’ve found it very hard to photograph the small patch of lavender that has grown for years on the east side of the yard. It’s very hard to get the beauty of the cluster right when the individual stalks stand tall and far enough apart to thwart focus on the whole. But combining it with the Foxtail Fern that grows in a pot nearby and is similarly vertically inclined gives the lavender some stature and some context that make the stalks seem almost as pretty in the picture as they really are. (I believe the lavender is of the French or Spanish variety because it has a milder smell that does not make me sneeze; the fern reminds me always of coral reaching toward the surface of the sea.)
This morning I signed up to participate in an online ’sing-in’ of the Brahms German Requiem offered by the San Francisco Choral Society. I’m so excited. I hadn’t gotten up the courage to audition for the group before the pandemic, but it was on my list of things to do to get to know and enjoy the city better. Added bonus: I don't remember singing this work before. Now they’re offering a weekly series of rehearsals on Zoom. In the final performance we will sing along to the society’s recorded version from some years past. No audition, no pressure, we all will be on mute. Brilliant! I’ll go downstairs, put on my headphones and sing to my heart’s content!
Besides my enthusiasm for the chance to sing, I find this exercise so emblematic of the times - a clever use of emerging technologies to keep us connected and in tune, a way for the organization to pivot quickly to keep themselves financially afloat and, ultimately, a sad commentary of the muzzled lives we’re forced right now to lead. But that’s OK. For now, I’m happy to sing online. I may not meet my fellow choristers, but It's better than singing alone.