Live Rehearsal

Restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic have forced the members of the Cornell Wind Symphony to constantly rethink and reinvent their approach to making music. The ensemble has continued to flourish through a path-breaking collection of in-person and remote rehearsals, performances, and guest lectures; and has found unique opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

The Wind Symphony began the Fall semester rehearsing outdoors in a tent erected for the ensemble on the Cornell Arts Quad. Also in the fall, the Wind Symphony continued its longstanding partnership with musical organizations in Haiti through a series of video lectures focused on Haitian Vodou, Rara, and Rasin.

Unwilling to abandon the prospect of live ensemble rehearsals, the Wind Symphony has pioneered synchronous ensemble performance over the Internet. Two members of the ensemble, Alex Coy (ECE, ’21) and James Parker (CS, ’21) have co-written an open-source software application called Live Rehearsal, a virtual rehearsal solution that integrates existing sound-broadcasting applications into a secure and simple interface. Currently, 37 members of the Wind Symphony are using Live Rehearsal along with NDI video transmission to make music in unprecedented fashion. Each rehearsal positions the conductor and brass section in one room, the percussion section in another, and 20 woodwind players in individual rooms. All students hear the full ensemble through bidirectional audio connections, and one-way video monitoring enables them to respond to nonverbal conducting gestures.