Performers are finding all kinds of creative ways to entertain—virtually, while respecting social distancing guidelines due to Covid-19.

“We missed singing together,” said Shanna Bengtson, a soprano from San Francisco’s a cappella group, Halfway to Midnight, when they needed to cancel their rehearsals and all performances due to the COVID-19 crisis.

Bengtson, a former Arizona State University alum and 1994-2000 performer in ASU’s, Pitchforks, an all-female a cappella group—moved to the Bay Area several years ago and missed performing a cappella.

After her move, Bengtson discovered a group of a cappella performers and decided to audition for a vacant soprano spot that had been advertised.

The group, Halfway to Midnight, enjoys performing at events across California while also competing in a cappella competitions.

Halfway to Midnight won the Bay Area Regional Harmony Sweep in 2016 and have two studio recordings released on iTunes, Spotify & CD Baby.

The seven member group include, Elana Segal Zizmor, Scott Adler, Michael Barrientos, Shanna Bengtson, Vivek Saraswat, Gonzalo Alonso and Alicia Flor and range in age from 28-46.

Set to host and perform at the 2020 Harmony Sweepstakes Competition on March 28^th, at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, the show was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The group members wanted to strictly follow the social distancing guidelines but missed performing at their weekly rehearsals.

Bengtson told Northeast Valley News, “That’s when it hit me, just how much I miss performing with these guys, and the fun we have!”

Their creativity kicked in, and a few weeks later they were showcasing their virtual video performance on YouTube.

Scott Adler, the group’s bass singer, suggested that they each lip synch their portion of a studio recorded track, and Adler edited it for the virtual video presentation.

The group has decided to experiment with more ideas such as recording voice tracks specifically for virtual performances.

For more information on Halfway to Midnight and their upcoming virtual performances, go to https://www.facebook.com/halfwaytomidnight/