Tag: B.PHL

No. 29 • 2021-02-19

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Virtual Music Education

Like everyone who participate in music ensembles regularly, I miss it terribly. There really is something magical about getting people together to make music. While some instrumental groups have managed to safely assemble in person, singing remains one of the most dangerous ways of spreading COVID (I don’t know of any groups that are singing together in person, only virtually).

Many experienced musicians are finding ways to cope and adapt, but for those still in the early stages of learning an instrument, singing, or playing in ensemble, the pandemic disruption could severely inhibit musical development. Given the challenges in reopening public schools, it’s not surprising that music lessons, orchestras, and choruses have been put on hold in many places. Others have shifted to virtual lessons, and while it’s not quite the same as being together, the back and forth interaction of lessons is a better fit for Zoom (it’s actually possible, as opposed to singing/playing together as a group, which is not). The most innovative educators are developing new forms of collaboration and performance, using technology to connect ensembles across schools and organizations.

The a cappella group I sing with, The Tonics, thought we might use the current limitations of our ensemble singing to raise awareness of the challenges in music education. Since we can’t sing together in person this season, we’re creating a series of virtual videos as fundraisers for local organizations. With the release of our latest video this month, we’re calling upon others to support the fantastic team at Play On Philly (POP), who provide musical instruction to K-12 students in our city. Throughout the pandemic, POP students have continued to participate in virtual instrument lessons and ensemble practice completely tuition-free. We hope you’ll join us in supporting this amazing organization!

And here’s to all music educators, especially those who are still providing lessons and rehearsals, safely, through the pandemic. Thank you for all you’re doing!

My publishing schedule has shifted to every other Friday. The next issue of Creating at a Distance will be posted in two weeks on March 5th.

(Socially) Distant Creations

  • Original iPhone Ringtones – A Cappella [MayTree] This may be the most a cappella-tech throwback mashup ever… Korean vocal group MayTree recreating the original iPhone ringtones. Also check out their renditions of Windows XP sounds and many other songs.
  • Trepak (Russian Dance) from The Nutcracker [Pennsylvania Ballet] This is a few weeks old, but here’s a lovely virtual holiday greeting from the PA Ballet dancers and orchestra (hard to imagine doing this with all the snow on the ground right now)!
  • Playing Music Together Online Is Not As Simple As It Seems [NPR’s Jazz Night in America] This video is from last summer, but it’s a nice explainer on the difficulties of live (real-time) music collaboration on the internet, with some jazz musicians who are making it work (within some constraints).
  • Creative Conversations for a Changing World, No. 1 [B.PHL Innovation Festival On-Demand] Last Fall, Jessica Zweig (Program Director at Play On Philly) and I co-hosted a 3-part series of discussions with innovators in the arts and non-profit sectors. The first of those events with David Devan (Opera Philadelphia), Valerie Gay (Barnes Foundation), and Melissa Talley-Palmer (Bartol Foundation) is now available for streaming.
  • Live From London Spring [VOCES8 & friends] The next installment of VOCES8’s online streaming festival of amazing vocal and chamber music has started, with premieres every week featuring some of the world’s finest ensembles (February 13 – April 22).

What I’m creating…

Made this for my wife on Valentine’s Day, and she granted permission to share it with everyone. One of my favorite ’80s early synth pop tunes that’s also become an a cappella classic. None of the groups I’ve sung with had this in the repertoire, so here’s my arrangement performed at my desk… with a few extra twists!

No. 17 • 2020-09-09

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Back to School

The 2020 B.PHL Innovation Festival is next week, Sept. 15-17.  Given the pandemic, this second year of B.PHL is entirely online and registration is free(!).  The program celebrates innovation in all its forms (technology, arts & entertainment, education, social justice, healthcare, and more) and features local leaders as well as global celebrities, like Pitbull, Nick Offerman, and Issa Rae.

Several events feature Drexel presenters:

  • A Night at the Museum(s), featuring Scott Cooper, CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences with Clay Catongo, Penn Museum.
  • By Law, By Love – features Angel Hogan, department manager in the LeBow College of Business and current Drexel MFA student, presenting her short documentary about a boy’s quest to find his family after growing up in foster care (part of the B. PHL Film Fest).
  • Put Down Your Pencils: The 2020 Class(zoom), a conversation with Drexel President John Fry and U. Penn Provost Wendell Pritchett.

I am co-hosting an event with Jessica Zweig, Program Director of Play On Philly, to kick off our new panel mini-series, Creative Conversations for a Changing World. These discussions will focus on how arts and education organizations are innovating through the pandemic with organizational leaders from some of Philadelphia’s premier institutions. We’ll hear from those who are thinking in and out of the box about new ways of performing, learning, and sharing in the era of social distancing. Our kickoff event features an All-Star panel:

Our panel is Tuesday. September 15, 4pm (B.PHL festival registration is required, but it’s free!)  Of course, anyone can tune in… you don’t have to be in Philly. Please share the event info with anyone who’s interested, and also be sure to check out the rest of the B.PHL program for other great sessions. I hope to “see” you Tuesday at 4pm!

Also, pre-register below for our future series events below.  Mark your calendars!

(Socially) Distant Creations

  • The Global Armed Man [Stay at Home Choir] 5000 singers from 74 countries contributed to this musical celebration of the 20th anniversary of the premiere Sir Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. The virtual mashup combines live concert footage from 2018 with at home recordings of thousands of singers.
  • Virtual POP [Play On Philly] Registration is open for the incredible local youth music instruction program’s 10th Anniversary year. Instruction begins virtually on Oct. 5.
  • Online Art History Classes [Barnes Foundation] An impressive collection of topics, each consisting of 4 weekly sessions this Fall.
  • Virtual Gallery [Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show] Featuring works from 101 artists from the US and Canada (Sept. 10-13).
  • Philadelphia Fringe Festival 2020 [Fringe Arts] Another reminder of the amazing all-virtual Fringe lineup this year (Sept. 10-Oct. 4).
  • Time Flies [Apple] The company’s next round of products will be announced in a virtual event (Sept. 15 at 1pm ET). Expect a new Apple Watch and new iPads.

What I’m creating

Virtual Chorister, my iOS app to help musicians participate in virtual collaboration projects has surpassed 2000 downloads! And don’t let the name fool you… it’s for instrumentalists, too! The latest update lets you also load guide videos from cloud services (Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, etc.) and adds support for Bluetooth headphones. An update coming soon will add other requested features.

Another frequent request is for an Android version. Unfortunately, that’s an entirely different development process that I don’t have experience with (essentially writing an entirely new app), but I’m thinking about it…

No. 16 • 2020-09-02

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Back to School

How is it September already? Many of us are scrambling to get ready for another most unusual school year. For me, that will involve teaching online (again). I do miss teaching in the classroom, much like I miss singing together with other people. I’ve also seen many professors, teachers, and students struggle with online classes, particularly last spring when there was little time to prepare. It’s actually quite similar to musicians attempting online collaboration for the first time. But we all get better at it, and as with virtual music ensembles, I’ve also witnessed enormous creativity in methods of teaching and engaging students online, towards a different, but not lesser, learning experience.

I firmly believe remote learning offers unique opportunities for creative instruction and learning. The first mistake many made, especially in the quick transition last spring, was to try to simply replicate the in-person experience. Online learning is different, fundamentally, just like a TV show is different from a performance staged in a theater. We must embrace those differences and adapt to incorporate the best features of the medium (see local efforts by Opera Philadelphia, the Wilma Theater, and others to produce new digital content).

I find it helpful to lean into the differences between in-person and remote instruction to identify the elements that that can be enhanced through online instruction. Here are some thoughts:

  • Different kinds of student engagement: Some aren’t comfortable speaking in class, but are happy to engage in text questions / conversations. We can also use messaging to keep conversations going outside of the class period.
  • Authoring new media: Rethinking textbooks and slides is long overdue. Experiment with new learning media, like U. Penn Prof. Robert Ghrist’s video textbook for calculus (above image).
  • Alternate modes of sharing and communicating: Online, we can easily share writing, documents, media, sketches, and code. These are the tools of the modern workplace, and we should embrace them for our students.
  • Special guest presenters: Speakers I couldn’t normally bring to campus (distance, cost, etc.), I can invite for remote presentations.

Ultimately, I believe remote teaching (and learning) makes us better instructors and students, whether in person or online. Most are past the angst. Let’s focus on the opportunities to make our classes this year into truly engaging and creative learning experiences. 

Visit Prof. Ghrist’s website for his amazing Calculus Blue project materials. More on the philosophy behind this work in this Twitter thread.

(Socially) Distant Creations

  • 2020 Grand Finale Concert [Vox Virtual Online A Cappella Festival] A fantastic virtual concert featuring 10 international ensembles!
  • Philadelphia Fringe Festival 2020 [Fringe Arts] Fringe is going all virtual this year (Sept. 10-Oct. 4).   It’s an incredible lineup of events, exhibits, and more!
  • #RedAlertRestart [WeMakeEvents] I still miss live events. This is an advocacy campaign led by We Make Events to support relief for the live events sector, which lit up venues in red on Sept. 1. See also Save Our Stages.
  • B.PHL 2020 Innovation Festival [B.PHL] The second B.PHL Festival is all virtual with some amazing speakers and registration is absolutely free! (Sept. 15-17, more below.)

What I’m creating

Creative Conversations for a Changing World
Save the date: Tuesday, Sept. 15 at 4pm
Jessica Zweig (Play On Philly) and I are co-moderating a virtual panel discussion with David Devan (Opera Philadelphia), Valerie Gay (Barnes Foundation), and Melissa Talley-Palmer (Bartol Foundation) on innovating in arts and education through the pandemic. Registration is free!