Virtual Choir Debuts!

Last summer my colleagues Lori Lovell at Maitland Middle School and
Matthew Swope at Winter Park High School approached me with the
idea that we should collaborate on a joint recording and performance project
that would involve middle, high school and college singers in a virtual choir
environment, similar to Eric Whitacre’s youtube sensation of a year ago. 
It would differ, however, in that it would be local and “vertical” in nature,
embracing the youngest, emerging and mature singers.  What began as a
casual conversation over coffee at Starbucks quickly took shape and form,
when Tom Todia, the Course Director of Game Sound at Full Sail University
(one of the premier art, music, and film schools in the word) came onboard
to facilitate the software for recording and manipulating individual student
audio and video.  We wanted a piece that was age and skill appropriate for
the youngest singers, yet captured the imagination of the older ones, and a
text that told the story of our project and was one that every singer could
identify with.  It seemed that the best way for this to happen was to write
a new piece! 

I contacted my friend, musician and poet Scott Lounsbury in New Hampshire,
to see if he had anything that might fit the unique nature of the project and
two days later he delivered E Pluribus Cantus, a tremendous text about
coming together from many places to form one voice, written just for us. 
It took just another two days to compose.  Many happy circumstances
converged with good friend and talented pianist Lynn Peghiny agreeing to
play the accompaniment track, former Winter Park High School student
Gabe Gundacker launching a documentary video project about the
collaboration, and plans for a combined live performance that would
showcase the video release, and a session for the Florida Vocal Association
at the state FMEA conference (Vertical Goes Virtual). 

This project captured the imaginations of our students, brought technology
into our choral classrooms in a very real way, initiated partnership between
the public schools, University of Central Florida and Full Sail University, and
united younger and older singers of generation Y in a way they had not
experienced before.   Communities ringing, each voice joined in singing. 

Scott Lounsbury has artfully captured what it feels like to be a singer in a
chorus.  E Pluribus Cantus is an anthem to bands of empowered singers
everywhere – from many, comes one song.

Vertical Goes Virtual documentary



E Pluribus Cantus virtual choir project