By Bob Marovich Dr. H. Steven Sims forwarded JGM a link to a fascinating article in the Journal of Voice, a publication of The Voice Foundation, to which he was one of several contributors. Choir directors, music ministers, and others in the business of training or managing singing groups will find the article instructive, even if there are still, alas, no definitive answers. As the executive summary states: “This paper is intended to provide guidance based on what we know: the best available data, analyzed and scrutinized by a panel of experts in the medical, behavioral and basic science world ...

“Just One Plague” Esther Igbekele JP By Bob Marovich To my knowledge, Nigerian gospel singer Esther Igbekele is the first music minister to release a song about COVID-19. Set to a buoyant West African rhythm, “Just One Plague” is a folk ballad that chronicles the impact Coronavirus has had on the world. Schools are closed. Businesses are closed. Sports are postponed. Economies are stalled. Governments are humbled. People need to stay a meter apart. Most astonishingly, she points out, the virus has also forced calm in the midst of international violence and political unrest. Ultimately, however, Igbekele commands the virus ...