We’ve all seen those recent viral videos being sent around of choirs, musicals, and a cappella groups performing together through the wonders of technology and video editing. Within the Montrose community, The Treblemakers have started making treble online, recently releasing a video performance of “Lean on Me” with the help of Ms. Thordarson, their faculty leader and mentor, and her two-week dedication to the project. 

The idea struck her one day while she was on a walk listening to “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley, so she suggested it to the group and they loved it. We held a quick vote and decided on “Lean on Me,” an uplifting song, perfect for this uncertain time. Little did she know that this uptaking would be much more challenging than she expected. 

With sheet music in hand and one earbud connected to the song recording of our corresponding parts, we recorded one video and one audio. Luckily, we had the easy part. Unluckily, Ms. Thordason had a lot of work ahead of her. The video-making process was painstakingly tedious due to the effort that had to go into every detail of the video to make it look and sound as good as possible. With a brother who went to film school, Ms. Thordarson had some experience with video editing, but this task was one that even she needed help with. She says: “The minutiae details of syncing the audio of every group member and creating a pleasing visual was a time consuming, but rewarding task.” The hardest part was syncing the audio of 16 different videos of a song learned just that week. A special thanks to Karim from Studio 3.14 for helping with the difficult task.

Throughout history, music has been a uniting tool for families, cities, countries, and nations. In this time of crisis, it brings the world together. This strong force that we call music breaks through desolation, fear, and loneliness, creating a greater community with greater bonds. Ms. Thordarson says: “Music transcends boundaries. It lets you do beautiful things when you are not even in the same room.” Music is not only a source of unification, but also one of emotion. It can alter one’s moods and feelings through resonating lyrics and melodies. Thus, music is a make or break factor in caring for our mental state. Ms. T says that she chooses to keep her music positive to reinforce any good mood she is in or to lift her up when she’s feeling down. Amaia ‘22 says: “Music has kept me sane during quarantine. There has been a lot of mixed feelings, but I’ve been able to express those feelings through music.” She uses music to relieve emotion instead of letting it control her. No matter how it is used, music helps people and brings them together, so go check out the video linked here and support the people who bring our community closer together!

Elyza Tuan ’23, Clubs and Classes Editor 

23etuan@montroseschool.org