Dear BYC families,
First, we want to say that we are thinking of you all and are missing our weekly music during this time of crisis! We hope that you are all staying close to your families and are finding ways to make music on a daily basis.
We are terribly saddened to share with you that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the BYC staff and board have made the unfortunate decision to close operations for the rest of the 2019-2020 season. This means that the March and June concerts, as well as tours, activities, and rehearsals, are all canceled. Staff have been laid off and will be paid through mid-April.
This year has been a transition year as we have brought on our new Artistic Director, new staff, and new ideas to the community. While we are tremendously excited by the influx of new ideas and plans for the future, our enrollment numbers have just not been high enough to sustain us through this crisis. In addition, our fundraising activities planned for the rest of the year are now unavailable to us due to social distancing restrictions.
While we have been feverishly brainstorming ways for us to keep teaching and sharing music with one another, a plan for two weeks does not last for six weeks or longer. We cannot anticipate when this crisis will end, and therefore cannot make plans for rehearsals to continue in person. We also don’t feel right collecting tuition when we are not able to provide the services you have come to expect from Bellevue Youth Choirs.
Once life returns to normal (and we so look forward to that!) we plan to regroup and start evaluating how we can continue next year. Nicholas and I are already making plans and talking about how we can continue to grow.
In the meantime, we’ll be processing tuition refunds for any Plan B and C families for their April and May tuition. However, if you would like to donate your unused tuition dollars back to BYC, please email Madeleine by March 31, 2020. We can’t stress how important your support and generosity is to the future of BYC and to our hardworking staff. If you would like to find other ways to support us during this crisis, please visit our website where you can find a donation link.
Finally, fill out our survey to let us know how we can continue to grow and change to sustain Bellevue Youth Choirs for generations of choristers and families. You can also review us on Google or Facebook and help us reach new audiences with your comments!
Stay well, and keep singing together.
Musically,
Nicholas Gorne
Artistic Director
[email protected]
Madeleine Stephens
Executive Director
[email protected]
BYC Board of Directors
[email protected]
Allison George, President
Bill Brueggemann, Treasurer
Kimberly Hernandez, Secretary
Tulika Dugar, Member-at-Large
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