Fredonia College Choir in action outside, with masks, and social distancing conducted by graduate student Adina Martin.

School of Music students are improvising when it comes to practicing.

A choir at the State University of New York at Fredonia was seen practicing outside in the built in amphitheater. The scene can be seen in a video that was taken of them practicing. The music department in general is one of the areas in the school that social distancing hurts the most.

“In my opinion, we have one of the more complicated areas on campus,” said Tammy Bankoski, administrative assistant to the director. “The faculty in my department have worked tirelessly to provide new ways to deliver their classrooms to our students. They met numerous times over the summer and continue to meet to assess how it’s going, what needs to be changed.”

The program has also prepared just in case they have to go fully remote. With the recent uptick of COVID-19 cases at the school, it may soon be transformed into all online again. Though these situations will not be possible in winter, Bankoski is proud of the efforts being made by students.

“It’s not going to work in the winter, no, but they’re working together and social distancing and keeping their masks on,” she said. “These things are not being shown. These kids are trying so hard to be in compliance and want to be here.”

With the stress of that scenario and the stress in general from the pandemic, Bankoski found comfort and calmness in the video produced by the choir.

“When I first saw the video, it brought tears to my eyes… I am so proud of all of them,” she said. “The determination our faculty, staff and students have is incredible.”