'Imagine' Says Waltham Middle School Virtual Choir: Video

WALTHAM, MA — When the all-city middle school concert was called off the day before the show because of the coronavirus pandemic, there was a collective jaw drop among the choir and music students and their teachers.

"Music is so important all the time, I just think this whole situation amplifies that. Right when this happened, and all the choirs were told they couldn't meet anymore, it was shocking and sad to have our musical outlet taken away," Waltham music teacher Tom Cincotta said.

He and the music director at Kennedy Middle School and the music director at the high school turned to each other to brainstorm how to make something happen that would engage students and remind the community of the power of music.

"We had all this music prepared and were like 'this really stinks that we aren't going to be able to perform'," Cincotta said.

Inspired by other virtual choir videos, they discussed the possibility of doing something similar.

McDevitt and Kennedy Middle School choir students were set to sing John Lennon's "Imagine," at the live show, so why not have the students sing it "together" apart in the form of an online virtual choir video?

The two musical teachers sent rehearsal tracks and material to the students, had the middle school singers record themselves, got them to send 46 videos and more than a dozen vocal tracks, and then edited all the files. The whole process took about a month and involved 60 students, said Cinotta. (See video below)

"It was a big project, but I think it was worth it to share and show that we can still make music and try to lift everyone's spirits a bit in the process," said Cincotta.

It went over better than expected. Teachers, families and the kids were excited to see the end result, and some have even told the music teachers they've gotten emotional watching it. And thousands of people have seen it since it was first posted on April 23.

"We just hope that this is a way to show people that we're not going to give up making music, and we can be creative to keep music alive and people's spirits up," Cincotta said.

The high school choir has also released a video and now the music teachers for both the middle schools and high school are planning more videos for the end of the year.

"We're excited, we're just trying to get as many involved as we can," Cincotta said.

It's a bright spot and provides something positive for the community in an otherwise difficult time for teachers and students alike.

"Music is just so important right now," he said. "We all have tough days, and some days are harder than others. And music can really help, especially when it can connect people when we are all feeling so isolated. "

Click on the video below to watch the middle school choirs sing:

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).

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