Symphony sets standard for adapting during pandemic
Music community learns to adapt during pandemic
Recently we looked at some of our standout pandemic broadcasters in Edmonton’s theatre community — hilarious, independent performers like Caroline Stokes, Jesse Gervais and Marielle Elizabeth, whose sudden and ongoing inventiveness on Instagram is truly next level innovation.
This time, switching to music, we’re going to examine the practices of some of the most captivating output the city has been delivering online during the pandemic, and what lessons these institutions might pass on to our festivals, as they move to experiment with broadcasting on their given dates.
To put on a critic hat for a second, I’d say Starlite Room and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra rose to the top in both production value and ease of access, which is a subtly crucial factor: being able to look at the shows whenever you want, even after a live broadcast.
As novel as it is to watch a live stream online and feel you’re part of a digital audience — and please keep tapping those hearts on Facebook Live, people! — let’s face it: on a sunny dusk it’s easy to blow off or even forget an artist you love was doing a concert on Instagram at 8 p.m. Thursday.
And one bad live connection can sour an experience fast.
This was in fact exactly what happened when the ESO tried out its first streamed show early in the lockdown, as cellist Raphael Hoekman and pianist Jeremy Spurgeon played Tchaikovsky live on Facebook at the Winspear in co-operation with the National Arts Council.
Tested multiple times in advance including that day, when the feed went live it glitched out like mad — sound cutting out, image freezing — though the comments section was supportive of even just the idea of trying to connect.
“There was already 1,000 people watching — people watching from South Africa,” explains the ESO’S Allan Cabral with a laugh. “Troubleshooting on the spot, I thought, ‘Let’s try the good old restart!’ And the second attempt was way better.”
Cabral is in the branding and marketing department of the Winspear-eso organization, but with the cancellations, his role shifted to in-house filmmaker. “It was a really quick learning curve,” he says.
Note to incoming would-be broadcasters: “You try it and you see what works. If it fails, that’s OK — you just learn from it. You need to be very agile and trust your instincts.”
After the troublesome live feed, Cabral switched to recording performances — often a couple takes — then edits them to include multiple angles, even B-roll of the city. Performances have so far included heart-wrenching violin solos by the incredible Robert Uchida and Virginie Gagne with Sarah Ho on piano, and a Mother’s Day program with Tatiana and Mikolaj Warszynski — violin and piano.
Find the entire Live at the Winspear: From Stage to Screen archive free of charge at winspearcentre.com/livestreams.
Cabral notes, for him, audio is the most important building block. “This is the Winspear Centre and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, so there has to be the highest standard of audio, that really comes first. I won’t start editing the videos unless I have a really good, finalized audio track.”
He talks about the decision to pre-record. “What you hear is the live performance, but, yes, we produce the videos. When we publish them on social media, that really becomes a live party that you can watch with people.”
As festivals strategize, that’s worth noting: you can effectively have a live, interacting audience enjoy a live but pre-recorded show on social media. The musicians wouldn’t hear us clapping, anyway.
That said, the Starlite Room has been doing an amazing job of streaming shows live, including marimba act Bliss Band with Rebecca Lappa, Humble, Jay Gilday, the Dice Cubes, Ayla Brook and the Sound Men, and others.
I was admittedly dubious about these — how could it possibly translate? But watching the bands perform live on the big stage under the lights — even the recorded feed afterwards — was fantastic: our own Austin City Limits.
Find them all at starlitesessions. com/feature-sessions-concerts.
The fact is, you can absolutely feel the love between the performers. Playing a 4/20 show, Mark Mcgowan of the Mcgowan Family Band notes, “Yeah, I watched it and it really had that concert feel instead of the quarantine solo feel.
“One of the regulations set up by Alberta Health Services was you have to set up six feet apart. We’re a big band that really does rely on crowd interaction. We feel the energy from the crowd, the dancing — it lifts us up.
“But even just ourselves, the fact we hadn’t seen each other as a complete group for months, we were just feeding of the energy of each other.”
For the streams, Starlite co-owner Tyson Boyd notes the key for the live confidence is to have excellent people on audio and video, sound engineer Jason Borys on the former. “He actually sat in a separate room listening to his headphones, treating it like a live-off-the-floor concert recording.
“And we got Kalli Melenius from Freebird Productions, she’s been broadcasting for rodeos. It’s a lot of expensive gear that takes up floor space, which doesn’t mix so well with a packed show and beers — but with a wide-open floor now we don’t have those concerns. She sets up a couple tripods on the raised platform, there’s a camera up in that old DJ booth, and she just works off a video controller.
“Other than that it’s just hardline internet. It ended up being great.”
Of course, there’s a matter of making any money off these shows, and the venue has been asking for donations online.
“The monetizing online, that’s the biggest learning curve for us. A couple shows we almost covered cost,” Boyd laughs. “If we build a bit of an audience, maybe with sponsorships, we can really make it work in time.
At a news conference last week hosted by NDP culture critic Nicole Goehring, Boyd noted, “We will be playing a vital role in Alberta’s economic recovery and that needs to be recognized.
“We’re really lucky to have an incredible support group and audience. We hate to ask anything of them, but it would be great to help educate your municipal governments, write your MLA. Help just kind of create some noise for us.”
The next Starlite Session on Facebook is Jake Ian’s album release 7:30 p.m. June 6.
Over at Winspear, a show will see Jeremy Spurgeon playing the David Concert Organ — the 9 a.m. Friday show will be archived online. And 9 a.m. June 21, ESO cellists and married couple Meran Currie-roberts and Rafael Hoekman will play, accompanied by their son Samuel on piano, for Father’s Day.
As far as festivals hoping to broadcast, Boyd is encouraging — aim high. “It’s kind of a brave new world. I’m all for it.
“I’d encourage people to explore more ambitious options rather than just throw Jim Cuddy in a bedroom with a guitar.”
You try it and you see what works. If it fails, that’s OK — you just learn from it. You need to be very agile and trust your instincts.