SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Augustana University’s School of Music invites you to a behind the scenes look in the making of its annual Christmas Vespers 2020 Concert “Risen with Healing in His Wings,” produced by Dean of the School of Music Dr. Peter Folliard. The concert is scheduled to air on South Dakota Public Broadcasting on Thursday, December 24.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused performing arts organizations to find new and creative ways to share their creativity with the world. Physical distancing guidelines, room capacities, air exchange rates and the increased production of bioaerosols associated with music making have upended the standard methods through which ensembles rehearse and perform.
“The pandemic has brought so much suffering,” said Folliard, “and we need music now more than ever.”
Augustana’s School of Music has faced these challenges head-on, and through leveraging the power of technology and a team of students and faculty, they will be able to present a large scale performance safely and unlike anyone else in the country.
By integrating Augustana’s state-of-the-art recording studio with their Winden Choral Room, Lillehaug Instrumental Room and Hamre Recital Hall, the university’s choirs, band and orchestra are able to record remotely from each room.
Each musician has a set of headphones that allow them to hear a digital reference recording and the producer, who guides them through the recording process. As those musicians perform along with what they hear in their headphones, that sound is captured via Pro Tools, a digital audio workstation, in the recording studio. The result is a synchronous performance, recorded from multiple locations.
To make Christmas Vespers 2020 a reality, Augustana’s School of Music will be utilizing 200 musicians, five ensembles, four performance spaces, 20 microphones, nine different compositions, four video cameras and require 48 recordings at once.
WHEN:
The Augustana Band: Thursdays, October 8, at 4 p.m.
Mass Choirs: Saturday, October 10, at 5 p.m.
Augustana Orchestra: Sunday, October 11, at 6:30 p.m.
Augustana University, Fryxell Humanities Center
- Lillehaug Instrumental Room 168
- Winden Choral Room 173
- Hamre Recital Hall
- Studio 47
(Augustana University contributed this report.)
