While the pandemic has canceled all large gatherings, which means no concerts or live theater, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a great show virtually. 

The Intro to Music Performance classes in Rowan’s Music Industry degree program will be hosting a musical performance, COVID-19 edition. This virtual show will consist of the two sections of professor Jeff Otto’s Music Performance course, who will be performing a variety of cover songs. 

Although there is one combined show, the two classes have different set lists. The Monday/Wednesday class has chosen to cover the following well-known songs: “My Face,” “White Room,” “Sir Duke,” “Kiwi,” “Little Help From My Friends” and “Help!”

The Friday section of Intro to Music Performance chose to cover “Surf,” “Them Changes,” “Onna Come Up,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” and “In The Air Tonight.” On top of those, both classes will be giving their renditions of the classic songs “Coconut” and “Chain of Fools.” There will also be some surprise solo performances from both classes.

Typically, this course would have students collectively rehearsing for a live concert at the end of the semester in Wilson Hall, but given the current circumstances, that was not possible this year. Fortunately, the Music Industry department, along with Jeff Otto, have done a wonderful job substituting a live in-person show with something that will still showcase what has been learned in the course, and to display the musical talent of the Music Performance students. 

Each student played their instrument alone and learned their parts of the songs that they signed up for. Students then recorded their parts and sent them to the producers for that particular song, who were tasked with piecing together each instrument like a puzzle to make completed songs. This is a rather unique way of doing things, since typically a producer would be closely working with the musicians in the recording session.

This method of allowing everybody to work together but separately is impressive and these individuals should be recognized for their ability to overcome a difficult situation. The producers for the Monday/Wednesday class are Vinnie Foley, Ricky Hardin, Javier Molina, Sidiq Huballa and Kyle Teen. The producers for the Friday class are Matt Abreu, Ja’Ren Hampton, Kyle McCarthy, Eddie Balisalisa, Justin Nunez, Chris Mollo and Jourdan Young. Check the ending credits of the show for a full list of who performed what on each track!

If you enjoy music and want to see your peers perform classic tunes, tune in to the performance next week, available on Rowan’s Music Industry program’s YouTube channel on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 12 p.m. The pandemic has been especially difficult on amateur musicians since it can be hard to find performances when bars and other music venues are closed. Luckily, Rowan’s Music Industry program has the desire and resources to let their musicians get performances out there for people to enjoy.

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