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Eighteen South Texas ISD Preparatory Academy and World Scholars students taking Ying Ching Jeter’s music course set up their own personal music studios at home to drop their Holiday Music Concert for all to hear via a live virtual performance on Dec. 12.

Students aired three musical stylings – Ukranian Bell Carol, Jingle Bells and Dance of Sugar Plum Fairies – pieced together by World Scholars senior and music club president Anuschka Mai of McAllen.

Mai was able to utilize skills learned in her International Baccalaureate (IB) Film course at World Scholars by directing the entire ensemble, alongside Jeter, and editing each performer’s piece into one cohesive performance.

“We all worked hard to make this virtual concert as great as it could be, despite how foreign the process was,” said Mai, “and though it didn’t replace the experience of an in-person holiday concert, I still believe we created something meaningful and memorable given the circumstances.”

Mai shares that a big part of being in an ensemble is to hear how one fits their own sound into the main overall sound, and not being able to physically rehearse and get that in-person feedback and demonstration the class is accustomed to receiving, definitely required more discipline and effort from all parts. She credits Ms. Jeter for their success, despite the hurdles.   

“Our entire class has been restructured because of the times, yet Ms. Jeter has made it work for us all, and my greatest takeaway from this experience has simply been this: Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Ms. Jeter continues to go above and beyond to make sure the music continues for us,” said Mai.

The students mastered their tempos with the sound of a clicking metronome, with guide tracks provided by Jeter, and recorded their parts using their computer, phone, iPad or other visual recording device for their submittals.

Ensemble members ran into a few technical hiccups, but that didn’t keep them from submitting their pieces and contributing to the final production that we can now all enjoy.

“No matter what the times bring, the music continues, and we will continue to play,” said Jeter, “and that’s exactly what we did.”