THUNDER BAY — Under the direction of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra's resident conductor, the TBSO and the TBSO Chorus have produced a Christmas gift for the community.
The orchestra's concert schedule was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but they were still able to put together two music videos that are accessible on the TBSO website.
One is The Merry Christmas Polka, arranged by resident conductor Maria Fuller.
It's performed by the chorus and by Fuller, who plays all the instruments: trumpet trio, accordion, piano, and fiddle.
She also led the chorus rehearsals.
The other piece is a contemplation on the town of Bethlehem, Imagine the Town of Bethlehem, arranged and written by Fuller, and performed by the TBSO and the chorus.
Fuller said producing the videos was very time-consuming.
As an example, she had to record the 31 members of the chorus individually, which took 16 hours.
She then used a DAW (digital audio workstation) program to get them sounding like a full chorus.
Fuller also made the videos and engineered the sound herself, which she said took considerable planning and storyboarding.
Community members can keep up to date on the TBSO's upcoming concerts by visiting its website.
Fuller said she hopes the orchestra can return to live performances in the New Year.
