Choir Spreads Music and Love with Virtual Valentine’s Grams

Celine Lee and Elizabeth Bank|February 18, 2021

Celine Lee

Even through strict limitations and precautions, choir makes the most out of Valentine’s Day, spreading love and friendship through music. “I think that sending out music virtually is a way that we keep our audience engaged and that we continue to be a team or an ensemble that promotes hope,” choir director Adrian Rangel-Sanchez said. “And that promotes positivity through the challenging times that we’re in.”

Choir members held a fundraising event from Feb. 1-12 that allowed students and teachers to purchase and send a personalized Valentine’s Day video gram of a choir member singing.

Choir raised $1,630 through the fundraiser, which they will then be using as their budget for their virtual concert in March, according to choir director Adrian Rangel-Sanchez. This will be their first public performance in over a year.

“It’s been an especially challenging year for choir just because we’ve been severely limited as to what we can do, just like most of us in our activities,” Rangel-Sanchez said. “Singing is inherently an activity that generates aerosol particles. So because of the restrictions, we’ve had to come up with creative and new ways to continue to share the art of singing. the art of music with our friends and family that’s still safe to do.”

Buyers were able to choose from a list of Valentine’s day-themed songs that were pre-recorded into a one-minute track sung by a choir member. They also had the option of selecting a custom song, as well as attaching a personal note and/or slideshow of pictures or videos to go along with the music. 

The recording or video was then emailed to the recipient of choice on Valentine’s Day. The grams were $5 for students and $10 for adults, while the custom song option was priced at $15.

Choir member and junior Puneet Singh, one of the organizers for the fundraiser, sang “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. 

“I would say our ultimate goal is to really get as many people as we can to purchase the Valentine’s grams so that we can not only gain some exposure for the choir but also bring a lot of smiles to people’s faces,” Singh said. “It’s kind of a nice gesture to know that someone put in the effort to get one of these Valentine’s grams for you and then someone actually sang it for you.” 

Choir surpassed its monetary goal of $1,000 for the fundraiser while also successfully uplifting students and teachers on Valentine’s Day by sending them the messages of thoughtfulness. 

Senior Essa Khoso was one of the many students who bought a gram for his friend.

“I just knew that by seeing that in his email would be something that he would like to look at and laugh,” Khoso said. “And it’d be something that he would enjoy.”