Congratulations to Pottstown Middle School 7th and 8th grade Band, recently under the direction of their teacher Mrs. Katherine German they performed a virtual concert production of the piece "Champions Rising" composed by Adrian Sims. During an after concert watch party the band met virtually with the composer of the piece, Adrian Sims, for a question and answer session.
Mrs. German gives us the inside story about the production. Virtual concert production process: Band members submitted individual videos of themselves performing the piece "Champions Rising." The individual videos were then compiled into one video with everyone performing simultaneously. Students were given very specific instructions to follow when recording - if the instructions were not followed exactly, the videos would be impossible to sync. The production was sponsored by Zeswitz Music and produced by Skynine, LLC.
Watch Party: Band members attended a zoom "Watch Party" to view the completed production together as a band. Special guests included: principal Mr. Brian Hostetler, high school band director Mr. David Bonilla-Garcia, elementary band director, Mrs Nancy Mest, elementary band director Ms. Rachel Ficca and composer Adrian B. Sims.
Quotes from special guests:
Adrian Sims: "It's really telling when you listen to yourself in a virtual performance and this was stellar. I want to congratulate you on not just playing the piece, but playing it well and making it sound wonderful."
Adrian Sims: "I dedicated this piece to my grandmother, who is one of those people who always told me to keep going, keep doing what you're doing even if everything around you is telling you otherwise......we've all had things get in our way. This covid situation is getting in our way right now and although it wasn't intended for covid, hopefully it can serve some guidance through covid."
Mr. Hostetler: "It's one thing to learn in a virtual environment, it's another thing to play music and compile it all together into a fantastic performance."
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0qEUEPPkyE&feature=youtu.be
Thanks for giving us an evening of entertainment during these challenging times and another reason to say Proud to be from Pottstown.