According to an old adage, a tree is best measured when it is down.
Similarly, it’s easiest to assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic when it’s more-or-less over.
As I write this, 23 June 2021, cases of infection are down, the number of vaccinated adults is up (albeit not far enough), and various cities and states are starting to lift restrictions.
The pandemic forced a total shutdown of music and theater, and a number of performances of my own work were canceled.
I’m one of the lucky ones, in that I do the bulk of my music-making sitting at a desk, and I was able to continue composing and assisting my clients.
People who do the bulk of their music-making in live performance did not have it so easy, but some of them founds some very creative ways to stay connected with their audiences and keep their skills sharp.
We’re fortunate to be living in an age in which technology has advanced to such a degree that performances can be assembled digitally.
A number of friends made use of an app called A Cappella, which allows the user to record multiple video tracks. A horn player friend of mine assembled a video in which he played all the horn parts for Robert Schumann’s Konzertstück for 4 Horns. This was a very impressive performance. I teased my friend by commenting, “Thank you for letting us watch you play with yourself!” I’m happy to report that he and I are still friends in spite of this.
Several choirs mastered the technique of having individual choristers record videos of themselves singing their parts alone, and then synchronizing all the videos to make a presentation of a large choir singing together while apart. Having participated in several such projects, I can tell you that, while recording your part in isolation can be lonely, the end result can be very satisfying, almost as satisfying as a live choral performance.
Two saxophonists I know, David Wright and Charles Gray, created videos of themselves playing multiple saxophones of all sizes and shapes. One such video featured my Sinfonia for Saxophone Choir (2010), and I was delighted with the results. This is, without a doubt, the most precise performance of my work I’ve ever witnessed, and the two players blend beautifully with themselves and each other.
There’s a link to the video on YouTube below..
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