WINCHESTER, Va. — Rewarding and reaffirming — those are two of three words that Courtney Reilly, Executive Director of Performances and Engagement at Shenandoah Conservatory, used to describe the past 10 months.
And it goes almost without saying, this word as well: challenging.
The majority of the Conservatory's approximately 700 students returned to campus this fall, for a school year like none other before it. Instead of preparing for concerts, theater, and musicals to be performed in front of hundreds at on-campus venues like Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre and Armstrong Hall, students and Conservatory staff instead had a very different assignment: turning the majority of live performances into virtual ones.
"When I reflect back on the seismic shifts that have taken place in both the education sector and performing arts industry over the past 10 months, I am astounded by what we have accomplished," said Reilly.
"Being in the conservatory, the most difficult part of this past year was not being able to play the kind of connective and healing role that the live performing arts have always played during difficult times. We have not been able to physically come together - or bring the community together - as frequently and in the same way."
The Conservatory was able to stage a few live events during the fall. They presented jazz concerts on campus at Sarah's Glen, and Inside/Out, an outdoor arts open house with music, theatre and dance held in locations around campus.
The rest of the fall's performances were held virtually, something the conservatory had not before done.
"Canceling performances altogether was not an option. Performance opportunities are integral to our students' academic experience," Reilly said.
"From the beginning, we decided that it would always be easier to shift back to our 'normal' operations - to pivot from digital or remote to live performances - than vice versa, so we focused on building an infrastructure to support digital performances."
Knowing this going into the school year, the Conservatory staff and leadership created a mantra: Adapt, change, grow. They spent the summer of 2020 planning for the academic year and performance season. Safety was a top priority. Reilly said early on they adopted the latest research and industry-specific recommendations, which cumulated in ShenCoRising, the COVID-19 Reopening Plan specific for the Conservatory's needs. (Shenandoah University had an overall reopening plan, which included the Conservatory). The plan outlined policies regarding face masks, instrument- and discipline-specific PPE like instrument bags and bell covers, as well as rehearsal and performance protocols.
In the summer, it was still undetermined that Shenandoah University would be welcoming students back for the fall semester. Due to that uncertainty, Reilly said they had to build a number of contingencies and scenarios into their plans for the academic year's performances.
"Working in the performing arts, it's not unusual to spend a lot of time upfront planning for various scenarios and then pivoting suddenly because something changes or goes wrong. In a sense artists are very well equipped to deal with this particular moment in time," she said.
Planning for virtual performances required quite an investment of time and money into equipment to help make that goal a reality.
"We had to purchase and learn how to use new equipment and software. We had to adjust our production schedules, allowing twice as much time for the post-production editing. We had to come up with a way for our patrons to stream this content, ensuring that we were abiding by all copyright laws. Without traditional revenue streams, we knew we were facing a huge financial loss, so we had to create a new payment infrastructure."
A new platform was created for patrons to view performances online: CP4U, which stands for Conservatory Performs for You. Performances can be viewed individually for a cost (starting at $12), or you can join as a CP4U Sustaining Member, which starts at $75 for a solo membership. As a member, you can access the Conservatory's virtual performance content from the fall (and the upcoming season), which includes a Rodgers and Hammerstein review, an innovative series of dance films, a collaboration with the Conservatory's voice students and a Washington D.C.-based opera company, IN Series, a solo piano performance by Alexander Bernstein, and a performance that combines the worlds of gaming and music by guest artists Fifth House Ensemble.
In addition to the CP4U platform, Reilly said they have also hosted groundbreaking livestream events.
"In November, guest artists Alarm Will Sound collaborated with our instrumental students to produce a groundbreaking performance of John Luther Adams' '10,000 Birds.' The event streamed live on Facebook and YouTube. At the time of the livestream, more than 50 musicians logged on from all over the country to create music together in real-time. To our knowledge this is the first time such a large group has performed together remotely," she said.
Another such performance was Causal Effect, by Dance faculty and choreographer Tiffanie Carson. Reilly said the livestream event used traditional cameras, iPhones, and drones to capture different angles of a live dance performance. Due to the excitement the performance generated, the creative team edited a film version that will be streamed on CP4U later this spring.
While this year so far hasn't been the typical experience for a performing arts education, Reilly said the students have embraced it.
"The students have shown so much resilience, creativity, and gratitude through all of this. They have really embraced the digital platforms and any opportunity to perform with and for others," she said.
"They all have friends at other universities, so I think they realize how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to rehearse, perform, and take classes and lessons in person. Many universities have canceled performances altogether. The fact that we have been able to keep our series going is due, in large part, to their willingness to embrace new opportunities and to overcome challenges — like dancing and singing with a face mask on and at increased distances, or playing an instrument without being able to see your hands because they are buried in a bag."
Having the health professions and pharmacy school as part of the university was an advantage to being able to make some of these performances possible.
"I think one of the silver linings in this is that we have been able to flex our creative and collaborative muscles to overcome a number of obstacles. We are fortunate to have such capable and gracious partners in our health professions and pharmacy schools, and we have really benefited from their expertise and resources," said Reilly.
"For example, our musical theatre students were able to perform their Rodgers and Hammerstein review without face masks, because we had a pharmacy school that was willing to conduct COVID tests in the days leading up to their film shoot."
The spring semester, which begins Feb. 1, will feature more digital performances and special livestream events, including performances by the conservatory's jazz, orchestra, and wind ensembles; original film projects by theatre and dance students, a fully produced staged version of 'The Last Five Years,' and performances by guest artists.
They will also launch the Live(stream) at Lunch, a series of free weekly lunchtime concerts which will be streamed over the Conservatory's YouTube and Facebook channels.
Once the weather warms, expect an outdoor series of jazz concerts, Shakespeare's 'As You Like It,' and the annual ShenCoLAB: Festival of Arts and Ideas.
Even once the challenges that Coronavirus brings are behind us, Reilly said that the Conservatory plans to continue livestream performances.
"How amazing would it be to give our parents, alumni, and friends from all over the world an opportunity to tune in live to a beautifully produced live orchestra concert, dance performance or Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre production? To do this really well, it takes an investment in time and resources, but this is what we are building up to."
The outdoor performances also proved successful and is something they'd like to continue in the future, but would be in need of certain resources to make this a reality.
"As with the livestream performances, this requires an investment of time and resources in staging and equipment. Early in our planning process, we actually explored the possibility of building a mobile stage, so that we could tour neighborhoods, parks and schools throughout the region — presenting pop-up outdoor concerts and performances. Ultimately, this was not financially feasible, but I am still dreaming up ways that we can make something like this happen in the future," said Reilly.
To view the Conservatory's spring lineup of performances, visit www.conservatoryperforms.org. There you'll also find information about CP4U to view recorded performances from the fall.
