27 Apr University of Findlay Virtual Choir Performs “The Road Home”
Since Ohio’s Stay at Home order was put into place, the University of Findlay community has had to get creative with classes, meetings, and extracurricular activities. Video technology has taken the place of in-person interaction and facilitated innovative ways to keep campus traditions alive. SeaHwa Jung, director of choral activities, took this one step further by organizing a virtual choir video.
In the video, the 30 members of the 40-member choir comprised of Findlay students, staff, and community members sing “The Road Home” by Stephen Paulus.
Pre-COVID-19, the Concert Chorale, which acts as the choir students’ final projects, was scheduled for Sunday, April 5. Due to social distancing, the performance was canceled and the virtual choir video became a substitute for the final project.
“As soon as I heard the concert and the rest of the semester were canceled because of COVID-19, I thought about creating the virtual choir,” Jung said. “However, I knew it is not easy to do in a real-time setting such as zoom because of technical difficulties, so I hesitated to jump in the project.”
After researching what other choirs and educators were doing, Jung came to the conclusion that a real-time video was not the route to go, but rather a pre-recorded edited version. Jung started by creating the score with breath marking, singing it several times with his wife and preparing a sample video. Then he prepared guide videos with the piano playing for each section, so the singers could practice. When the singers were ready, they sang their part while listening to the guide over the earbuds and uploaded their individual videos via Google Drive. Then, Aaron Osborne, University of Findlay’s senior media production specialist, edited the video together.
“While making the video, I realized how much I miss the rehearsals and concerts with the singers,” Jung said. “Despite the situation, I wanted to work creatively and positively and I realized it could be a good vibe for the students as well. While preparing the project, I was happy and was glad to hear my singers’ voices at least.”