MC3 Virtual Choir

jedscottUncategorized

The Michigan Choral Commission Consortium is a labor of love, and its mission is integrally wedded to creating choral experiences for Michigan singers and choirs.

So about a week ago I decided to create a Virtual Choir to offer something to singers over during this unprecedented statewide shutdown. I’m hopeful it will be a positive, musical, and connecting experience for the 35+ choirs who participated in MC3 2019.

I’ve kindly been given permission to pursue this project by one of our 2019 composers, Z. Randall Stroope. We’ll be working on his gorgeous setting of “I Have Loved Hours at Sea” by Sara Teasdale. (I just received word that he is currently editing this piece for publication!)

The submission process and the score will only be available via the conductors of the MC3 member choirs, but here are the detailed instructions for creating your MC3 Virtual Choir video.

The deadline for video submission will be Monday, April 6 at 11:59pm.

MC3 Virtual Choir Guidelines

Before You Record

  1. You are going to need two devices:
    1. A device to show the conducting video and playback the guide tracks into your headphones
    2. A device to record your video and audio (your phone, ideally with a microphone attachment)
  2. Setup your phone to record the video on a tripod or balanced so it frames you and has a pleasing background and DOESN’T MOVE while you record. You should have yourself in landscape orientation, and have your phone close enough that your face fills at least half of the frame vertically. Don’t cut off the top of your head!
  3. Give yourself as much light as you can – the video will be much better quality with bright light! Natural light is usually better, so try roomy with sunny windows.
  4. Take a minute to think about what you’re wearing (maybe a shirt from your choir?) and to think about what’s in the background. 
  5. Do a test recording or two, to make sure the audio you’re recording has a strong level but doesn’t overload at your loudest singing.

When You Record

  1. Cue up the video.
  2. When you start videoing, hold up a white piece of paper in front of your face. This will allow us to “white-balance” the videos later.
  3. Begin taping and playback with your headphones UNPLUGGED. There will be a loud tone played that needs to be recorded so we can easily sync up the videos.
  4. After the tone plays, you will have about 8-10 second to plug in your headphones. Don’t worry – this part of the video won’t appear in the final cut. 
  5. You will then hear your pitch and see the conductor lead you in.
  6. Sing a COMPLETE take, beginning to end, to the best of your ability. There’s no penalty for doing it more than once until you’re happy!
  7. If you want to submit yourself singing more than one voice part – go ahead!
  8. Submit the video at FULL resolution by uploading it to the form sent via your conductor. (Google sign in required.)

We’ll take care of it from there!

The commissioning of this work is made possible by the membership of more than 35 choirs across Michigan in 2019. Please see below for these choirs and organizations.