The fine and performing arts directors and teachers of the Egg Harbor Township School District have not let the closing of schools during the quarantine stop them from showcasing their students’ work.
Instead, they’ve worked to highlight all the sixth-12th-grade bands, choirs, artists, sculptors, dancers, orchestras and actors through a series of virtual performances and videos.
“We felt like we had to do something for these poor kids that were not having spring art galleries and spring recitals, so we decided to produce a mini series of all the art programs.” said Mark Kadetsky, the supervisor of fine and performing arts for the district.
For the student cast of the high school’s spring musical, “Les Miserables,” the cancellation of school came just as they were about to start the play.
So instead, they recorded themselves running their lines and singing their parts for a video of all the main parts in the play, highlighting the parts played by the seniors. The March shutdown happened two weeks before the play was set to open. They were so close to the live performance that they even had a dress rehearsal, said Matt Guenther, director of the drama program and the school musical.
Instead, the rehearsal provided them with some shots that could be used in the virtual production of the musical.
“The songs, acting and costuming all came together in the video presentation. We could take what we have done with our virtual instruction and transformed it into a virtual production,” Guenther said.
Students who are a part of the school’s bands, choirs and orchestras were also given the opportunity to perform their songs at home.
Alder Middle School and Fernwood Middle School have been working together to perform the same song as one choir.
The students were instructed to record themselves using two devices: a phone and a computer. The phone is used for the recording and the computer is used so the students can listen to the track through headphones, while singing over it. The difficult part being that each student must listen to the exact track while also starting their song at the exact same moment.
“Learning a brand new piece of music, correctly and virtually, has been insane, but when the students see the finished product, they’ll be a little more understanding of what they had to do.” said Marissa Weatherby, the middle school choir director.
The district began highlighting their students’ artistic work recently and will continue with a nightly Facebook video of unique performances through June 8. The full schedule can be found on the district’s website or on Facebook at EHTNJ schools page.
Tech challenges
Mixing all the audio together is up to David Milnes, recording engineer, while Leanna Mullen, the EHTTV station manager, and Tyler Gardner, the assistant manager, piece all the videos together.
“The biggest obstacle is not having a conductor,” said Milnes, “but knowing that these kids will get to hear their music again is the driving force for me.”
Samantha Oliver, a rising senior and a member of the high school’s Honors Wind Ensemble, called the effort by the school’s music department “amazing.”
The end of the school year is fast approaching, which means so is the end-of-the-year District Show and the Atlantic County Teen Arts Festival, which is when students would typically get to show their work.
Since the students won’t have that chance this year, Donna Clark, a township high school art teacher, is having students make video clips in which they discuss their work.
