Seventy-five artists, one great sound.
These students from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music brought their talents together to make a virtual ensemble after being told they would have to leave campus and complete their studies online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SHELBIE RASSLER
Project Organizer
“I thought of this idea as a way to kind of bring everyone back together and just kind of share some love and some positivity. We can still do the things that we're passionate about, and we can still be the people that we are, even during these tragic times.”
MATT MCDONNELL
Cellist
“Music is just such a great vessel for communication, as it can express so many different emotions. Playing Burt Bacharach's tune, 'What the World Needs Now Is Love,' really couldn't come at a better time, as what people really need right now is love.”
Shelbie wrote the musical arrangement, with parts for 41 vocalists, 27 instrumentalists and even seven dancers. The individual videos were then put together to make this online debut.
SHELBIE RASSLER
Project Organizer
“We have to all do our part to make sure that this crisis ends as quickly as possible, by staying home and not physically being with the people that you really want to be with right now, but coming up with these creative ways that we can still see each other and we can still do things together.”
Burt Bacharach and Hal David said it all, back in the 1960s, and Berklee's young musicians are repeating it today: What the world needs now is love.
