Let the music play: The Port Townsend High School music department will hold its annual Spring Senior Concert this week.

The show will be a “virtual” concert, and hits the air at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 11 via a live streaming performance online at www.PTHSmusic.com.

The concert will consist of several musical components. One major part involved students recording themselves individually and sending in recordings.

“This has been a very steep learning curve for me and the students,” said music director Daniel Ferland. “Our students are used to playing in groups, so this is a totally new experience for all of us.” 

Local audio engineer George Rezendes of the Tool Shed Lab has been helping to reassemble the parts.

Students were sent metronome click tracks and music online for the performance. Organizers note there will be selections from the Symphony Orchestra, the Jazz Band and some smaller ensembles including a student rock band.

David Egeler, who teaches media production at Port Townsend High School, has also been helping to create a video component for the virtual concert along with some of his students. They used a combination of video from previous performances, video of students playing from home and photos from this school year. 

Some previous performances from earlier in the year will be included as well as some senior solo works.  “We have an amazing group of seniors with unbelievable talent. We can’t let this year go without showing them off to our community” Ferland added.

The PTHS band and orchestra program was set to travel to Los Angeles in April, but the trip was cancelled just a few weeks prior. About 70 students were set to record music at Capital Records, attend a performance of the LA Symphony and participate in a music clinic at UCLA. Students had fundraised since summer for that opportunity, and the effort had raised roughly $25,000. The music boosters are working on rescheduling the trip for next school year.