KATHLEEN HANSEN, CHORAL CONDUCTOR FOR SAN DIEGO CHORUS, SAN DIEGO WOMEN’S CHORUS AND SUN HARBOR CHORUS

Creating art together is a salve for our collective psyche.

As children, we sought the comforting feeling of “home”: curling up in a favorite blankie, cuddling with a pet, or giggling with a best friend. Growing up, many people found that place of safety making music in bands, orchestras and choirs. One of the reasons I became a conductor was to create an environment to provide others with that feeling, that space, that experience. Once the realities of adulthood set in, there are few and precious spaces where we can join together with vulnerability to explore and express the feelings that we may otherwise hold in or lose touch with. Creating art together is a salve for our collective psyche that gives us rest in a fast-paced world.

Community music ensembles create a unique kind of camaraderie. Our differences fall away as we work together to perfect a ringing chord or synchronize an impactful lyric. We spend months together in preparation and anticipation until we can finally deliver a moving performance to our loyal friends and fans. In that space and time, we experience a shared moment that cannot be replicated. It reminds us of our humanity and our innate need for a creative outlet.

In the preparation process, we see each other through major life events — births, deaths, divorces, career changes, major health challenges and more. For many of my choristers, it’s the only time they have each week to check their daily stressors at the door while we create something beautiful together.

This week, as I read messages from my singers, we are struggling together with a heavy sense of loss. We grieve the loss of what regularly brings us together, challenges us, and soothes our souls. We fear stepping into the unknown without our security blanket that takes us out of the world for a brief moment.