Covid-19 has silenced the Lake Region Community Chorus, at least until to 2022.

“It is with heavy hearts that your board of directors announce that the fall 2021 season of the Community Chorus will be cancelled. The board met (via Zoom) the evening of July 29 to discuss the nature of trying to sing together while keeping everyone as safe as we can from the Coronavirus, and especially since the advent of the Delta variant,” a letter to chorus members said. “Given the easy transmissibility of this form of the virus, the path forward is quite clear. The new variant can potentially infect even those who have been vaccinated, and since we know that singing is an efficient method of droplet spread of the virus, we could not ascertain a way forward that would keep singers and conductors safe. As a board, we are unwilling to risk a single person in our organization.”

Since the decision was reached, the chorus board learned that Bridgton Academy may not be able allow the group to use their previous rehearsal space.

“We recognize that this decision will be painful to many who have been hoping that life would return to normal soon. We share that pain. The discussion last week was long and thoughtful. We discussed various scenarios and found that there were no versions of a fall season that did not include the possibility of a cancelled concert or, worse, the chorus becoming its own ‘super-spreader’ of the disease,” the board wrote. “We hope you will understand how difficult this decision has been. The board will continue to meet during the fall, and should conditions improve, we hope to begin working with the Academy to see if a spring season might be feasible.”