El Camino High music teacher Raymond Galela drew on newfound technical skills to organize a virtual fall concert that included performances of “March of the Trolls” by Edvard Grieg, Brian Balmages’s “Apparitions,” and the “Klaxon” by Henry Fillmore.
“The expectations of knowing that there’s going to be a concert. . .those expectations are set in these students when they start in fourth or fifth grade,” said Mr. Galela.
In this interview, Mr. Galela reveals the process of putting together a virtual concert and reflects on how this new format has affected his teaching.
“The school district has a music program that starts there, moves up to middle school, and comes to high school—that’s already in their mind set, so they come in and they’re just kind of wondering how is the teacher going to accomplish this, and this year happens to be online, and so they just need to be told what to do:
“These are the songs. Practice these songs. I’ll have a check-in with you here, here, and here and then get the recordings done. Then they record it, and they send it to me, and then we put it together.”
More than 30 students participated, recording their individual parts at home.
“We strive to make it sound at a higher level than what they’re actually playing, so getting that level up—the presentation of it in the recording—was also a goal just like it would be during the regular school year, if we were performing music normally in front of people.”
The difference between a live performance and a virtual one?
“In-person is harder, but it’s much better. It’s more fulfilling.”
See the full concert at: https://youtu.be/HtpaIz8Qr-g