Film Screening & Discussion: The Drive to Sing (2022)

When:
Thursday, Oct 26, 2023 2:00p -
4:00p

Where:
Boston Public Library: Rabb Lecture Hall
700 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116

EventScheduled OfflineEventAttendanceMode

Admission:
FREE

Hosted by:
...
bostonpubliclibrary Boston Public Library Adult Programs Department

Categories:
Innovation, Lectures & Conferences, Movies, Social Good

Event website:
https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/64f1ed6c8fb25f4200a10a70

Enjoy this uplifting documentary about the importance of making music together. Through the unique lens of pandemic "car choirs", the film follows the story of choirs finding a way to sing safely during the pandemic and showcases beautiful choral music recorded in very unusual places. Featuring choruses in Massachusetts, Virginia, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Alberta, this inspirational film won 7 awards at film festivals in 2022. It is family-friendly and resonates with anyone who has sung in a choir.


After the film screening, there will be a discussion between Director Bryce Denney and Produce Kathryn Denney. The program will close with a brief audience Q&A.


The Story


When the COVID-19 pandemic forced musical activities to shut down in March 2020, singers searched for ways to stay connected when they could not be in the same room together. Online solutions such as Zoom helped groups socially, but did not allow a choir to rehearse and perform together. Several tech-savvy musicians turned to old-school audio technology to organize parking lot choirs, with each singer safely isolated in their own car. The idea spread through social media across the US and Canada, and reached the attention of the New York Times, the Today Show, and NPR. "The Drive to Sing" is a feature-length documentary that tells the story of parking lot choirs, the cast of characters who worked together to develop and refine it, and the choruses who kept their musical communities active during this time of fear and isolation.


The Documentary


Musicians Bryce and Kathryn Denney were among the first to try a choir in cars. They started with four singers in their driveway, so they called it a "driveway choir." Through online collaborations, they teamed up with David Newman and others who refined the idea and taught the world how to do it. During the pandemic, the Denneys traveled all around Massachusetts, helping many choirs to sing together using audio technology, at a time when it was unsafe for choirs to sing in person any other way. As pandemic restrictions eased, they began interviewing musicians, filming choirs in action, and asking for footage. In May 2021, they began work with Boston-area filmmaker Justin Lahue. After filming in summer 2021 and post-production in the fall, "The Drive to Sing" was completed in December 2021. It runs 76 minutes.


Director: Bryce Denney

Producer: Kathryn Denney

Associate Producer: Justin Lahue

Narrator: Russell J. Gannon


Program Speakers


Bryce is a microchip verification engineer, a pianist, a singer, and a woodworker. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he and Kathryn learned how to organize safe in-person musical events for choirs who could not meet any other way. The restrictions of the pandemic unexpectedly provided an opportunity to learn new audio/video skills and to contribute to the arts. The Driveway Choir project and the documentary are an exciting intersection of music, science, solving problems, and connecting with people. Bryce has degrees in physics and piano performance from Oberlin College.


Kathryn is a singer, a French horn player, a choral director, a conductor, a composer, and a music educator. She has a Bachelor of Music in French Horn Performance from Oberlin College and an Master of Music in Elementary Music Education from Boston University. She is working on her first musical, Connected, to be produced in October 2022. She loves to conduct choruses and direct musical theater productions, and social distancing is not her thing.


This program is presented by the Boston Public Library as part of their Never Too Late Group created with older adults in mind. Due to the ample seating available in the Rabb Lecture Hall, registration is not required; instead, seating is first come, first served.

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