Onondaga Community College Music Professor Dr. Rob Bridge started planning for a worst-case scenario more than a month ago, shortly after he held his last in-person class with students on Friday, March 13. A Percussion Ensemble was scheduled for Friday, April 24. What if student’s couldn’t return to campus? Would they still be able to perform? “I reached out to them about recording a piece, ‘Clapping Music’ by Steve Reich. We were able to make a nice video fairly quickly,” said Professor Bridge.
Their first success built the foundation for more successes. “That piece turned out well and we were able to circulate it. I think everyone’s spirits were raised so we decided to do more.”
Students were never able to rehearse as a group. Each would send Professor Bridge videos they made on their phones, he would watch them, and reply with feedback. He also met with students virtually using Microsoft Teams.
On Friday, April 24 the Percussion Ensemble presented its performance at 11:15 a.m., the date and time scheduled at the start of the semester. It was a learning experience for all involved. “Some of it was the same as face-to-face instruction; you have to follow direction, the sounds you make matter, and 90% of success is showing up. Some of it was more specific; tempo and feel are two different things. We also went through a few different pieces. We worked on a piece we had to scrap (“The Workers Union”) and added a piece at the last moment (“Hodge Podge”).”
You can watch some of their performance by clicking on this link.
Congratulations Professor Bridge and the Percussion Ensemble!
