Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2021

Facing moments of fear, uncertainty, and—quite frankly—boredom throughout this pandemic, most of us have, at some point, turned to art to survive. But how have the arts been surviving? It’s a complex question, and I turned to faculty and students of the Sarofim School of Fine Arts for insight into how their programs have adjusted to keep exploring and creating art in these trying times. MAKING MUSIC IN A MASKED WORLD The Music Department quickly realized that singing and playing aerosolizing instruments in groups would need to be restricted because those activities posed a higher risk of spreading the virus, so faculty reconceived how students could fulfill their necessary performance experience. Musicales moved to the virtual performance hall via public Zoom meetings, and members of the orchestra and wind ensemble worked individually or in small sections and submitted video recordings to director Lois Ferrari for remote review and critique. Conducting from a distance was a challenge for Ferrari, but a silver lining was the unique chance to see her students perform on their own. “Now that I’ve heard them all individually, which I don’t usually get to do, I can appreciate how much they have improved,” she shares. Some ensembles used a little editing magic to fabricate performances together. Flute instructor Adrienne Inglis learned how to sync her students’ individual video recordings into group compositions, and the Southwestern University Singers completed small group projects in whichmembers coordinated on songs of their choice and compiled their separate parts into virtual a cappella arrangements. Biology major Natasha Ndele ’24, who joined the choir remotely from Kenya, was excited to participate from thousands of miles away. “I had never sung a cappella before, but I enjoyed the assignment because I was able to sing songs of different genres and create projects that not only showedmy background and culture but my personality as well,” she shares. Both the SU Singers and the flute ensemble premiered virtual recitals on YouTube at the end of the semester. Perhaps the most innovative shift in the music program was a redirection of the choirs from singing to playing handbells together. Beth Everett, visiting assistant professor of music and director of choirs, was struck with the idea after seeing a friend’s post on Facebook about handchimes, and “it was like this huge lightbulb came on.” She worked with the university to procure two sets of handbells, and each student was assigned to two bell notes for the entire semester. Everett taught both choirs how to play from scratch, a task she had never before taken on. Although it was a challenge, she was happy to take on the extra work. “I was completely motivated by the fact that this was something we could do together safely and still make music,” she says. The new practice has pushed the choirs to sharpen their music reading skills, and Everett is excited to see the THAT FINE ARTS FINESSE STORY BY OLIVIA WISE '18 SOUTHWE S T E RN | 3 1 Making art in unprecedented times requires creative adaptation.