PATRIOT LEDGER.com – Coronavirus concerns have shaken up the South Shore Children’s Chorus, which canceled its program until at least April 7. But the group has a song in its heart and the young singers are sharing it with the world in a video that is the definition of group effort.
About 40 members of the group remotely recorded parts of the song “Beautiful City” from the musical “Godspell,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, arrangement by Mac Huff and artistic direction from Kirsten Oberoi.
That’s no small feat. Each student participated from home, recording themselves singing their voice part while listening to the accompaniment in their own headphones.
Saying she’s not the most tech savvy, Oberoi said she worked furiously to fuse the 40 clips together into a cohesive whole. It took more than 50 hours. “It was a long and grueling mixing and editing process, but so worth it to hear the reactions of the singers and the parents,” she said.
“Beautiful City” is about building a new city from the rubble and chaos and creating a better community. Oberoi said choosing the song was a no-brainer.
“This piece is already in our current repertoire. The timely and poignant lyrics speak so much to me. It has served as a balm for my own heart all year following the passing of my mom unexpectedly last May, a longtime music educator herself in Braintree public schools, and most recently our chorus’s training choir director. Choosing this moving piece with such a timeless message was something I hoped would lift all of our spirits.”
The group is based in Quincy and Sharon and was featured on a “Today” show segment Monday, March 23.
