Pittsburgh Youth Chorus students create 'virtual choir' video performance

The children of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus aren’t interested in waiting until the coronavirus pandemic is over to begin making music again.

And while all 223 members of the organization’s six choirs weren’t able to fit, 18 students had a chance to be part of its first “virtual choir,” performing Marta Keens’ “Homeward Bound” in a video posted to YouTube earlier this week.

Students submitted individual videos performing their part of the song using a prerecorded piano track, which Pittsburgh Youth Chorus Executive Director Lee Saville-Iksic then stitched together using Apple’s GarageBand and iMovie software.

“I put the call to students for videos on March 20, and finished the video about nine days later,” Saville-Iksic said. “I wanted to try and give everyone equal screen time, so I tried to map everything out and get a sense of how it would ultimately look.”

Using iMovie’s picture-in-picture option — which required him to create a finished video and then bring it back into the program to add additional singers — Saville-Iksic spent between 30 and 35 hours creating the video, which is just under 3 minutes.

“We see about 223 kids in our year-round programming,” he said. “Since this was the first time we did it, I wanted to try and keep the total number smaller and more manageable.”

“Homeward Bound” was set to be the finale group number at PYC’s annual spring concert, so all of the individual groups were familiar with the tune.

“We kind of found a hidden gem in this project, something that really got the kids excited,” Saville-Iksic said. “I’m thinking of something like once a year, even after things get back to normal. We’ve already received quite a bit of attention, and I think it’s something we’ll continue.”

The organization also has created a GoFundMe page for anyone interested in supporting the group to help it make up revenue that typically would come from its spring and summer concert schedule.

For more, or to donate, see GoFundMe.com and search for “Pittsburgh Youth Chorus.”