The words “Parker Virtual Choir” are written on a blue galaxy background. Underneath it is a quote by Brené Brown that reads “connection: the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” Following the quote is a message from Middle and Upper School music teachers Emma Castaldi and Rob Denien: “Connection is a central component of the Parker Choir. This website was created with hopes of maintaining creative collaboration and musical interaction at a time when connection is most difficult.”

The front page of the website shows the assignment requirements: recording or projects, and sight-reading. Below that is a button to see student work. Up on the top is a menu bar that has buttons for “Recordings,” “Projects,” “Sight-Reading,” “Your Work!”, and “Bored?” The recordings section has practice tracks for students as well as other options for recording music at home. 

The projects section provides students with the option to create original art based on a decade or interview an adult about the music they listened to growing up. The sight-reading section has a link to Sight Reading Factory, where students can log in and record themselves. “We wanted to give a few options,” Castaldi said. “It’s important that for this class we are still somehow singing and creating musically in some way, so that was the idea where we offer the menu of options as their first assignment and then the second assignment would be the sight-reading, which is more about music literacy.”

The projects and “Your Work!” section is sorted out by decades. The spring concert theme this year was supposed to be music throughout the decades. While school was still in session on campus, students were learning music from various decades as well as researching what was going on at the time that music was produced. “A lot of people are interviewing their parents about the music they grew up with, or creating a presentation about fashion in the 1970s,” Castaldi said. “Stuff that in our normal day to day schedule we really wouldn’t have had time for, and the remote learning created time for us, which was awesome.”

Castaldi and Denien spent the first week of remote learning, which was designated for teachers to shift their curriculum to online learning, creating the website. “It took the entire week, I think we worked about 12 hours a day,” Castaldi said. “We wanted to create something that in the end did what our class is supposed to do and that is share.”

Upper and Middle School Choir students turn in work assigned via the website or Google Classroom. “I love seeing a diversity of students from sixth grade to 12th grade and seeing what they come up with,” Denien said. Students turn in projects that range from decade-themed TikToks to videos of them singing to paintings. Sight-reading work is also assigned by grade level that students complete. Castaldi and Denien use class time to talk to students about assignments and check in with students. 

“It’s something new for everyone to experience,” said sophomore Sophia Rogers, who has created a 1930s inspired TikTok for the website. “It’s a fun way to stay connected by seeing all the fun projects people post.”

The website has been shared in “This Week at Parker” and will be sent to parents at the end of May. “We were trying to find a way to bring students and people together even though we can’t be,” Denien said. “And the idea of a website just kind of popped up as a way or to display student work in a public way that people could enjoy seeing what other people come up with.”