I have long loved Steve Zegree’s beautiful setting of the Gershwins’ “Love Walked In.” It’s a study in suspension-resolution, it reaches beautiful jazz harmony while retaining excellent voice leading, and it brilliantly teaches expressive singing.
I selected it for GRCC Shades of Blue this fall, because while a cappella ballads are particularly challenging to record remotely, it was compelling, singable, and short enough not to be a too-big lift.
The singers came through beautifully, submitting lovely performances from their homes (mostly on their phones).
I finished mixing it over Christmas, and was getting ready to release it when the GRCC Foundation reached out. They usually have a special breakfast around Valentine’s Day to thank all the donors from the previous year. With that being unavailable thanks to COVID precautions, they wanted to do a virtual thank you, with a Valentine’s Day theme. “Love Walked In” is the perfect song for such an occasion, and we got to work producing a video!
I was lucky, for the first time, to pass off the video production to professionals – GRCC Media Services, who came with a plan that far outstripped anything I could imagine. They taped the floor of our recital hall, scheduled 15-minute spots for each singer, and filmed them, only to composite them later into a single shot.
I am fortunate to work with amazing students and to have amazing professional colleagues who are so skillful at their jobs. Please enjoy our version of Steve Zegree’s arrangement of “Love Walked In.” You can read more about the project here.