The Sioux Falls Christian Chamber Choir recently came together to perform a rendition of Peace Like A River. This particular ‘concert,’ however, was not in front of a live audience. It was put together using today’s technology during a time in which social distancing is strongly urged.
Peace Like a River from Sioux Falls Christian on Vimeo.
Since moving to an online learning curriculum, Sioux Falls Christian choir director Eric Kooima has been exploring ways to keep kids involved in music.
“I quickly realized that the traditional music making model that has made up my typical school day was gone,” explained Kooima. “And so I really wanted to try to find a way for my students to be able to create meaningful music making opportunities at home, and also bring a message that would bless people and give people hope through these challenging times.”
What Kooima and the marketing department at Sioux Falls Christian developed was a request for each member of the schools Chamber Choir to record themselves singing ‘Peace Like A River’ from home, and then from there, all of the recordings would be put together to sound and (semi) look like a full choir ensemble.
“I know for me personally, the song ‘Peace Like A River’ is a song that I sang at my grandfather’s funeral and is a song that has given me peace in certain circumstances,” said Kooima. “As crazy as this world is, us adults are trying to deal with all of these things and we see our young people singing, it’s a way to bring joy to our own [souls] as well.”