SJC 4:30 Music Team Video

The 4:30 Music Team is a group of people that sings and plays for the 4:30 Saturday mass at the SJC chapel. The group is made up of students, staff, alumni and friends of the U of A and SJC which has become a community of sorts, even having potlucks to celebrate birthdays and special occasions. In the age of COVID-19 and physical distancing, being a music team is no longer possible in the traditional sense, but they have managed to get around that by learning how to function as a virtual music team.

They were inspired by a video of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra functioning as a virtual orchestra. So the 4:30 Music Team set about learning how to do the same. The result was their first video, "This Alone," which was a test run with only a few choir members. You can watch it here.

Here's how it was done. The pianist recorded himself playing the piano part to the song and then sent the video to everyone else. Each other group member then recorded themselves singing or playing, while listening to the piano part with headphones. The piano part acted as a "click track" of sorts so that all could stay in time with each other. Everyone then sent their videos to one group member to edit the audio and video submissions together; thanks to iMovie, the final product turned out pretty well, especially considering all recording was done on phones or computer cameras and microphones.

Given the success of the previous song, the rest of the choir was invited to participate in the virtual choir, this time choosing an upbeat Easter song, aptly called "Song of the Risen One." This one worked the same way as the previous, but with more people involved. The project has been a nice way for team members to keep in contact (not physical contact, of course) with those they usually see every week, as well as an opportunity to still make music in the process. They have even been able to include some former choir members who have since moved from Edmonton, which is a definite perk of the virtual platform. It is hoped that these videos will be a nice souvenir of COVID when all of this is finally over. Well done, 4:30 Music Team!

4:30 Music Team members: Adrienne Lema - Caitlin Ratcliffe - Cam Franchuk - Cathy Lyder - Clint Hagel - Elizabeth Ellehoj - Emily Konrad - Erica Osko - Genevieve Lyder - Kimberley Franchuk - Michele Tschritter - Pat Lema - Sophie Paul - Tai Nguyen - Theresa Lema