The Kingston Symphony has found a way to share their music with their local audience while still practising physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like all other events and recreational activities, the Kingston Symphony’s concerts were cancelled from March on, including the finale of their Beethoven festival season.
So Kingston Symphony music director Evan Mitchell asked all 40 of the members of the orchestra to record themselves playing their part of the finale of the Eroica, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3.
Then, Mitchell pieced all the various videos together and created a mosaic of instruments that mirrors the experience of hearing an orchestra in person.
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The piece played in the 12-minute video is something Mitchell thought would be fitting for the current trying times.
“The Eroica is special as it represents a hero’s life, which leads into the finale’s brilliant statement of triumph and overcoming adversity. Maybe a little too close to home at this time, but it certainly felt rewarding to undertake this particular musical project,” Mitchel said.
Putting together all the various parts was like a puzzle, Mitchell said, which took over 50 hours to complete. But what he wanted was to produce a “high-quality piece of music” that would allow his fellow musicians the chance to play their finale, and share their music with others who are missing the experience of hearing live music.
He said that the project was “a labour of love — love of the music, the musicians who play it, and the audience who will hear it and hopefully be uplifted by it all.”
Kingston Symphony Concertmaster Yolanda Bruno said that playing this particular piece was therapeutic.
“I believe we are collectively searching for heroism and serious leadership at this time. And there is no better way to share that unified feeling than to play the finale of this great symphony by Beethoven! We are in this together and we will get through this together,” Bruno explained.
You can watch the video here:
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