Can't Stop the Music: Two Concerts Go Virtual

Distance didn’t stop the music—Groton School’s musicians produced two virtual concerts during spring term, reminding the community of the joy of campus concerts and open mic nights.

 

A student-produced concert went live on Thursday, May 28, with performances spanning genres from folk to classical to hip-hop, featuring instruments from ukulele to grand piano. The concert showcases the talents of twenty students, three faculty members, and the music prefects, who coordinated the concert with students who run Groton’s open mics.

 

A day later, the Groton community received another musical treat—a chamber music concert featuring student musicians, directed by Director of Instrumental Music Mary Ann Lanier, in collaboration with members of her Select Chamber Music class.

 

Joshua Guo ’20, a music prefect, said he was watching a concert featuring artists performing from their homes when he decided to contact music prefects and open mic heads to plant the idea for a virtual concert. “After school [on campus] was officially cancelled, we became even more determined to find a way to still bring our community together in music through a virtual platform,” Joshua said. “Especially as seniors, we wanted to put on one last show for the school to wrap up our musical careers here.”

 

A pianist, Joshua had produced several postludes for Groton’s virtual chapel services, and he used that experience to build the online concert. “After performers uploaded their videos to our Google Drive, we first watched to make sure everything was fine, then found a slot in our performance order that would make for the best flow for our concert,” he explained. The students then pieced together the performances, inserting transitions and introductions. The concert runs for about one hour, forty minutes.

 

“It feels wonderful to showcase so many of our talented peers and to do so in such a positive, uplifting way during these difficult times,” said Joshua.

 

The chamber orchestra’s concert presents pieces ranging from Dvorak to the Super Mario Bros theme (including an appearance by Mario) to several original student compositions. Some were recorded while still at school, while others were shared from homes. The video substitutes for the in-person concert that the Select Chamber Music class normally would present on campus.

 

One advantage of both virtual concerts is that they will remain available indefinitely, ready at any time to uplift listeners with Groton’s student music.

 

“I am so proud that we were able to pull off two concerts,” said Ms. Lanier. “It is nice to show that music can make a difference.”