Plans for the concert recording began more than six months ago with the planning of the actual concert. Artistic director Dr. René Clausen selected, arranged and wrote music that would work in the broadcast environment. Concordia partnered with Twin Cities Public Television to record and edit the concert into an hour-long program.
The concert production, which includes increased lighting and production during a video recording year, was funded through donations. Greg Butler, the lead donor, says he is pleased the concert will reach thousands of households this year and even more when it is distributed nationally in 2017.
“I believe in Christian education and helping young people develop their talents, which Concordia does,” Butler says.
“Christmas at Concordia: Gather Us In, O Child of Peace” showcases the talents of nearly 400 student musicians in four choirs and the orchestra. The students had to bring their best musicianship as well as their most expressive faces for the cameras – not just once, but four times. The crew of Twin Cities Public Television recorded the entire concert during one dress rehearsal and three of the concerts and took the best from each recording. The audience was an important part of the broadcast as a camera swooped over the crowd showing the expansive venue and mural.
“No other school does spectacular artwork like Concordia,” says Twin Cities Public Television producer Lisa Blackstone. “And from the mural we develop our lighting scheme, graphic elements and font treatments. It plays a role in our cameras and shot choices too. It’s really a unifying element to the whole production.”
Turning the edited version of the concert around to broadcast this Christmas is a unique challenge. The TPT team has 18 days to get the piece ready for playback on regional public television stations, which translates to about 180 hours of video editing and 70 hours of audio editing.
“The processes have to happen in precisely the right order in a very tight timeline to do a big production like the Concordia Christmas Concert,” Blackstone says. “All of that has to go on while getting to do the creative parts in the edit suite. Engaging both sides of the brain for a sustained period can be complicated. But it’s the best kind of complicated because in the end we get a really gorgeous product.”
The program will begin airing Dec. 22. A schedule of when it will air can be found at ConcordiaCollege.edu/2016broadcast.
Check your local listings to confirm broadcast times and dates.
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