Published: 10/15/2020 4:16:21 PM
In this ever-changing world, people are continuing to search for a sense of normalcy and community.
The Northern Lights vocal ensemble may have found an innovative way to achieve both. With the help of some new technology and a little bit of patience, a new driveway choir has found its way into the new normal.
The equipment that makes this possible is FM transmitting headphones. Everyone in the ensemble sings into his or her own microphones and all the voices are sent to a soundboard. Once the soundboard receives the information, it instantly blends it all together and sends it back to everyone’s headsets via radio transmission in real time. This makes it possible for everyone to harmonize with each other while still being safely distanced apart.
When Director Peggo Hortsmann Hodes first heard an ensemble perform in this manner, she said she was moved to tears and knew she had to bring it back to the Concord Community Music School.
“Music is my whole life … the fact that we can sing together and hear each other just makes all the difference in the world,” Hodes said after rehearsal on Wednesday.
For the foreseeable future, singing in groups would not have been possible, since it is an easy way for COVID-19 to spread. However, with their new headphones, the driveway choir will keep performing as long as the weather allows.