PORTLAND, Ore. — The end of the 2019-2020 school year was unremarkable for thousands of students who were forced to finish their classes at home due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"I'm in choir and theater so I was doing stuff all the time and then it just stopped," said Serena Mason, an incoming junior at Rex Putnam High School.
It was a similar story for Mason's friend, incoming senior Blake Oren.
"Pretty much all my closest friends I've met through choir," Oren said.
Both teens are part of the A Choir at Rex Putnam and both wonder how and if they'll join voices again in person this coming school year.
Like sports teams, school music competitions are governed by the Oregon School Activities Association. On Wednesday, the OSAA announced plans to shift fall sports ahead to March because of the Coronavirus.
OSAA executive director Peter Weber said for now, state music competitions remain scheduled to take place at the end of the school year.
"We don't forget about those activities, they're an integral part of our association," Weber said of school music programs. "In a lot of ways, they impact as many, if not more students, than our sports do, so they're just as important to us."
What will change is the amount of time students will have to prepare for music competitions.
"Not knowing when or if we'll be able to rehearse together as ensembles really makes competition seem like an afterthought for us this year," said Rex Putnam choir director Erika Lockwood.
She said the biggest challenge for teachers is keeping students connected and thriving through remote learning, especially with music. But Lockwood said they have to try.
"A lot of students have told me, '[Music] is the reason that I come to school,'" Lockwood said. “For their social-emotional learning, I think it's crucial to keep them enrolled in the ensembles even though this may be a time when people want to shift and say, 'Oh, I'm going to not do that this year.' I think this year is crucial."
The latest state mandates called for all Oregon students to take all classes remotely through the beginning of November. For music, Lockwood said many students are supplementing with private lessons and practicing as much as they can at home.
"I sing almost all the time," Oren said. "It's not that hard to keep that."
Mason said she's trying to stay positive and look ahead to the future.
"So when we do come back, there's sort of a new connection and a new focus and a new drive," she said.
Exactly when that will be is not certain. Until then, they'll keep lifting their voices to help their spirits do the same.
"I'm just imagining the time when a group can come together and sing a chord," Lockwood said. "I think we're all just going to cry or scream, it's going be great."