Master Chorale music

Ensemble to premiere virtual performance

Adalia Garza | THE RIDER

The UTRGV Master Chorale, an ensemble composed of student vocalists from both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses, will stream a virtual performance April 27 on the UTRGV Patron of the Arts YouTube channel.  

Unlike the traditional in-person performances of past semesters, the master chorale has presented its work via recordings to adapt to restrictions amid the pandemic.  

Sean Taylor, associate professor of music and director of choral studies, described what it was like when in-person events were transformed into virtual events.  

“Basically, last March, all of the choral musicians in the world became recording artists,” Taylor said. “So, the performances that we had planned to be live performances at UTRGV–and universities, community and professional choruses across the country and the world–all turned to online music-making.” 

The master chorale held a virtual performance in Spring 2020 and two in Fall 2020. This spring, the master chorale will follow through in like manner with behind-the-scenes technical work to create an “AV experience” for the viewers, Taylor said.  

“[Students] will record themselves in their house singing along and upload that, so that the track that I get is just their voice,” he said. “And then, I layer that together so everyone’s singing at the same tempo at the same time. Then, all that matches up and we sort of create an audio-visual experience for the people watching, with singers on screen with some artwork or pictures. 

“In October, we had [Associate Professor Daniel Hunter-Holly] take some photographs around Brownsville–of the campus and things–so those were our transitional pieces. We got to really explore some artmaking beyond sound, so we got to create a real AV experience for our audience.” 

The upcoming 45-minute performance will include a selection of choruses, solos, and chorales from Bach’s St. John Passion under the direction of Taylor and Lecturer Molly Getsinger. The master chorale will be accompanied by featured artists from Alium Spiritum (a Brownsville-based professional ensemble), plus string, woodwind and keyboard faculty.  

“Every individual has recorded all of their parts in their own home or in their own space,” he said about the creative process to produce such a large project. “I’m working close to 1,000 different files, syncing everything up between all of the movements and then it will come together.” 

Nadya Moreno, a music education senior and member of the UTRGV Master Chorale, expressed her gratitude toward her mentor and her desire to continue in music even through the pandemic.  

“Dr. Taylor has been really great about it,” Moreno said. “He comes in with a super great attitude. Even if not a lot of people have their cameras on [in Zoom classes], he’s still there, and he puts in the effort every rehearsal to make it exciting and fun for us. So, I really appreciate that because I love music and I don’t want it to stop just because of a pandemic.” 

Similarly, for students like Preetika Bauskar, a chemistry freshman and member of the UTRGV Master Chorale, the program is an outlet outside of the world of science in which she can express her love for music and desire to grow. 

“I really love to sing,” Bauskar said. “I want to keep doing it and I do want to keep growing in it. I wouldn’t have chosen to be in choir a second semester during the pandemic if I didn’t think it was helpful and fun and good. … For me, it is really good to have something that’s not science, that will still require my focus and attention.” 

Taylor intends for the performance to inspire students with their own work and show the community that UTRGV is still creating and innovating in music amid a pandemic.  

 “One hope and goal is that the students that have been isolated so much this year will get to see a product that involves all of them together and, hopefully, will inspire and help them look forward to a more normal music-making experience in the fall,” he said. “The audience will get to see that we are still very much active and making music at UTRGV–or audience and prospective students for next year as well–that they see that we are doing innovative and interesting projects here and adapting to the times, adapting to situations that keep our students and faculty safe, while still being able to create art.” 

The free virtual performance will premiere on UTRGV Patron of the Arts’ YouTube channel at 7 p.m. April 27. Taylor will also host a pre-concert discussion at 6:40 p.m. on Zoom that is also open to the public and will give the audience an opportunity to interact with the musical guests. The links can be found on the Patron of the Arts website, https://www.utrgv.edu/patron/.