OC’s Filleman invites musicians around the world to create a virtual concert; submissions open through April 17

OC music department and Crossings Christian School create collaborative online concert amidst COVID-19.

April 15, 2020 - Musicians across the world are finding innovative ways to create and share their music while staying at home during the COVID-19 crisis. Oklahoma Christian University’s Department of Music is no exception. 

Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Ensembles Scott Filleman is collaborating with Crossings Christian School Band Director Michael Brown to compile videos of musicians performing their parts of a particular piece into one video, making a full band performance out of all the submitted videos. High school students, college students and adults have until April 17 to record themselves playing their part and send in their video. Those videos can be submitted online here until Filleman closes the site that day. 

Despite the enormity of the project, Filleman was eager to take up the challenge and wanted to encourage students to practice and think about their role in a larger picture.

“Music performance is never about any one single musician; any concert is the synergetic result of individual efforts contributing to one larger whole,” he said. “In this case, we have musicians from age 14 to beyond-retired ages in at least six states and three countries working to perform together, virtually, to produce a performance that would not be possible without the modern advances in technology.”  

Once he and Brown get permission granted by the publisher and composer, Filleman hopes to share the video on YouTube by early May. 

 “It is incredible, as an individual, to be part of something THAT much bigger than ourselves,” he said.