Restart of Ukulele Groups, April 2022
With the Omicron variant declining and masking requirements relaxed in Madison County, I've been hoping that we could restart the Ukulele groups at the Senior Center and the Huntsville Main Library (the UkeQuestors).
However, the highly-contagious Omicron variant B.A.2 is expected to appear in our area shortly which would probably cause another temporary hiatus of the group if we are meeting indoors (singers inhale and exhale a lot of air, making indoor settings a significant problem, recalling the experience of the choral group in Washington State where after the group met for a rehearsal almost 90% contracted COVID, three were hospitalized, and two of them died). See:
How a superspreader at choir practice sickened 52 people with COVID-19, LiveScience
High SARS-CoV-2 Attack Rate Following Exposure at a Choir Practice, CDC
April 20 Update: B.A.2 is now the most prevalent version of COVID in Alabama.
Be aware that numerous variants of
the novel COVID 2019 virus (SARS-CoV-2) have occurred, and several new Omicron
variants have been identified recently including B.A.2-12, B.A.2-12.1, B.A.3,
B.A.4, and B.A.5, plus XE (a combination of B.A.1 & B.A.2).
The good news is that researchers at Walter Reed have decoded the Coronavirus
DNA and are developing a single pan-coronavirus vaccine that will protect
against both SARS coronaviruses including SARS-CoV (2002) and SARS-CoV-2 (2019);
it is currently in first trials. For more information, see:
Human Coronavirus Types, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
US Army Creates Single Vaccine Against All COVID & SARS Variants, Researchers Say, DefenseOne
One solution is to meet in a covered outdoor venue which would offer some degree of safety from COVID (and the sun).
For the Senior Center ukulele players, we've received permission from the Huntsville Senior Center to use the outdoor Bandstand / Gazebo on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 1:00 to 2:30 pm, from now through the Fall (when the weather would likely interfere); the Senior Center is located at 2200 Drake Ave SW, Huntsville. Senior Center ukulele players will first meet in person on Wednesday, April 20.
In addition, the UkeQuestors, who usually meet at the main Huntsville Library, can use the Bandstand on the 2nd and 4th Sundays from 2:00 to 3:30. The UkeQuestors will first meet in person on Sunday, April 24, but will continue to meet via Zoom on the 1st, 3rd, and any 5th Sundays; Senior Center ukulele players are welcome at the Zoom Jams!
We will not meet on Easter, April 17, or during the Independence Day weekend, July 3.
Because the projection of song sheets will be impossible, we will be working out of our respective Songbooks. Any other songs will be announced on Facebook and posted on the website but each of us will need to print the song sheets before we get together; free copies cannot be provided in the future. An option might be to load the song sheets on i-Pads or other tablets although on sunny days they might be difficult to see without a sun shade.
I was not able to connect to the Senior Center WIFI ("Senior Center Guest 2.5 G") at the Gazebo earlier this week but it is available inside the Senior Center weekdays; it is not expected to be available on Sundays.
We will need to provide our own music stands and chairs. The Gazebo has wood benches but they are “first come, first served”; individuals might wish to bring stadium-seating cushions for the benches.
Because we will be playing outside, bring a pair of clothes pins or light clamps to hold down the pages of your songbooks.
Here are a couple of files related to physical and vocal warm-ups, which Theresa will be leading.
7 Hand Exercises to Prevent Arthritis.pdf - but talk to your doctor if you have a repetative stress disorder.
When doing any physical warm-ups, stop if your feel pain. The expression "No Pain, No Gain" is pure nonsense, at least in this context.
Severe weather is always a possibility in North Alabama, but especially in March, April, and May. The plan is to meet so long as we are at a Level 2 "Moderate" risk or lower, as defined by the National Weather Service and published in the "Day One Categorical Outlook" by the Storm Prediction Center. If any type of severe weather Warning is issued during our sessions, we will immediately halt the session so that we can pack up our music, instruments, chairs, and music stands, and seek shelter. On Wednesdays, we can move into the Senior Center (with proof of vaccination) but on Sundays we will need to seek other shelter (the Senior Center is not open on weekends).
We will not meet if we are at a Level 3 "Enhanced" risk or higher or if we are under a Wind Advisory or Wind Warning.
A note will be posted on our Facebook page if this is the case.
This is an evolving situation. Additional details and modifications should be expected.
Here is a proposed song list for April 20: Song List for April 20, and here's a "mini-songbook" of the songs: Senior Center Song List_2202-04-20.pdf plus the Uke Fest 2022 Song Book_(2022-04-02).pdf
Here's a songlist for the UkeQuestors: Song List for April 24, with a link to a "mini-songbook" and to YouTube performances of each song.
Everyone is invited to play along with Doug and Theresa during the Alabama Uke Fest 2022 at Lake Guntersville (May 13-14). We will be playing four songs. Here's the Songbook and songs:
Uke Fest 2022 Song Book_(2022-04-13).pdf
Also available is Alabama Uke Fest 2022 - Song Sheets_for Friday & Saturday.pdf.
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