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Forty boys walked into two rehearsal spaces at St. Michael’s Choir School expecting to sing. Instead, they found piles of PVC pipes, fittings and transparent shower curtains spread out on the floor.

On that day in November, the high-schoolers were tasked with assembling 75 individual singing pods for three of the downtown Toronto school’s rehearsal spaces. In the process, they learned about the science behind aerosol transmission of COVID-19 as they wrapped shower curtains around pipes to form three plastic walls.

“It was really fun. By the next day, we were using them,” said Teri Dunn, dean of choral studies and one of the school’s conductors.

While schools across the province scramble to curtail the spread of COVID-19, staff at St. Michael’s Choir School — a unique collaboration between the Archdiocese of Toronto and the Toronto Catholic District School Board — “put their heads together” to brainstorm creative ways to ensure the safety of their students.

To prepare for a return to in-person classes last fall, the school also purchased fabric masks specifically designed for singers, reduced class sizes by half and hired new teachers to deliver a virtual choral program.

“It was really clear the school was an important part” of the lives of students, teachers and the administration, said Dunn. “There are huge mental and spiritual health benefits to what we do, especially at a time when anxieties are running so high, particularly for students.”

Cole Primerano, 17, remembers spending his day building the stalls. But while they offer protection, the large plastic walls can make it difficult to hear his peers and stay on tempo.

“It’s very odd singing in them because you feel very closed off from the world,” the tenor said. “It’s definitely something we had to get accustomed to.”

Smaller choir sizes presented a new challenge, Primerano added. High school classes, which usually range from 24 to 26 students, were cut to about 12. The boys come in on opposite days to make this arrangement work. Elementary class sizes didn’t need to be reduced because they were already under the provincial capacity rules.

“We have to take more initiative and responsibility for how we sound,” Primerano said. “You need to have a lot of confidence in your own ability because it feels like you’re the only one singing.”

“There’s nowhere to hide — your sound really does matter,” added Dunn.

Barry White, interim executive director at the school, said it’s important students stay up to date on the school’s historical repertoire — comprised of music written over the last 500 years for the Catholic liturgy — for when they’re back to performing in St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica. The basilica is currently restricted to 10 people per Ontario’s COVID-19 measures and public masses are temporarily cancelled.

“If there was a gap, after a couple years, the institutional knowledge of the music, you would start to drop it,” he said. “Even if they aren’t seeing teachers in person, the boys are keeping the repertoire fresh so when we’re back, we’re ready to go.”

But students also have the opportunity to explore nonsacred music, like jazz and pop. A few weeks ago, when sea shanties were trending on social media platforms like TikTok, one of the teachers from the school taught a few of the traditional folk songs.

The school invested $10,000 to outfit all students with Sing-Safe masks specifically designed for performers. The masks fit snugly over the nose bridge and under the chin, with an elongated panel in the front to allow for additional jaw and mouth movement.

“They’re kind of funny looking,” Primerano said. “We look like ducks.”

The Sing-Safe masks were designed by Kym Scott, a director of choral activities at West Virginia University. They’re made of three layers of fabric: two layers of cotton and one layer of polypropylene, which acts as a filter.

While not much is known about exactly how efficient singer’s masks are, their filtration efficiency depends on the material, the structure of the mask itself and the fit, explained Charles de Lannoy, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at McMaster University and a researcher at its Centre of Excellence In Protective Equipment and Materials.

“If a mask is structured in a way where you’re using heavy, stock cotton, at least two layers, with a nonwoven polypropylene interlayer, that is going to be a fairly efficient mask that could even compete with surgical masks in terms of its ability to filter aerosols,” said de Lannoy, who is also an alumnus of St. Michael’s Choir School.

The school was well aware extra precautions would be necessary to keep students and staff safe. In early March of last year, a choir practice in Mount Vernon, Wash., became a COVID-19 superspreader event, leading to 52 infections and two deaths. The event led to changes in COVID-19 policy that crossed borders; Toronto’s COVID-19 guidance for faith-based organizations includes limiting the number of performers of vocalists, avoiding group or congregational singing, installing barriers between performers and accounting for the length of instruments when determining physical distancing between performers.

Singing presents a greater risk than speaking when it comes to COVID-19 transmission, said Dr. Catherine Clase, associate professor of medicine at McMaster and a researcher at the university’s CEPEM.

“It’s aerosol generating and there’s some evidence that suggests the more loudly we speak, the more we project and the more aerosols we create.”

When shown a picture of the choral stalls the school built, de Lannoy called the in-house solution “novel” and “innovative.”

“We know that plastic barriers are impermeable barriers, so it’s going to be a very good block for aerosols,” he said.

“What they’ve done in terms of interrupting airflow around the pupils, it looks really sensible,” added Clase. “Data shows that even hanging a curtain can make a big difference in hospital settings.”

Since the pandemic began only one person associated with St. Michael’s has tested positive for COVID-19. Two grades were quarantined after the case in October “out of an abundance of caution,” a school official confirmed. However, no full-time students, staff or teachers have reported a positive case since the beginning of the pandemic.

When the idea of choir stalls came up, the school considered Plexiglas, receiving a quote of $700 per stall. Librarian and archivist Pina Povolo came up with the prototype for the stalls they now have, which were built for less than $55 per unit. The school spent $4,100 on those stalls, compared to the $52,000-plus the Plexiglas version would have cost.

Between buying masks, equipment for the stalls and hiring new staff members, the school has spent more money than usual in order to “stay afloat.” White, who became interim director around Christmas time, says the semi-private school was able to pay for additional COVID-19 measures through ongoing fundraising efforts and online music sales.

“We’re spending more money to keep the program strong,” he said.

The effort is not lost on students like Primerano, who said being at the school has helped his peers with their mental health and feelings of isolation. He has a select few teachers he feels comfortable talking to when he’s feeling down or needing support.

“When you’re at school, there’s always someone who’s there for you,” Primerano said, adding teachers have been receptive and very accommodating. “The togetherness and the brotherhood at the school has been very important for us during this time.”

Correction — March 2, 2021: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Cole Primerano.

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