Dec. 23, 2020

A virtual holiday concert featuring local musicians is just a click away.

Musicians played among the motorcycles at program sponsor J&L Harley-Davidson, where the concert was recorded.

It’s available on YouTube by clicking below.

Sioux Falls Chamber Music Collective, a startup music and arts nonprofit, organized the event.

Founder Yi-Chun Lin, viola principal in the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, said she sought to provide a pandemic-safe event and start a trend of encouraging people to interact digitally with the performers.

She’s hoping the fun camera angles add excitement to the performance and that the digital version will be enjoyed by people in places “that have been isolated since the pandemic started, such as senior homes and health facilities, so our musical joy can bring them some comfort and joy throughout the holiday season.”

The concert itself contains many familiar Christmas songs and folk tunes from different cultures, and it is performed mostly by a string quartet.

“With several different cultural holidays going on around this time of the year, I just feel it is important and fun to include pieces that people are less familiar with as they are just also amazing and festive music,” Lin said.

“We have two special songs: one is with Andrea Ross, award-winning singer and actress, and the other is with eight string musicians to provide a string a cappella to mimic the sound of a choir, which is nowhere to be seen at the moment. To encourage more digital interactions with online listeners, we have one very fun song hidden from the performance. People can go to our webpage to see how to acquire the song for free.”

The musicians are all professionals from South Dakota and Minnesota. The concert was produced by USA Media TV.

“Without their support and belief in what we do and the importance of making such a show during this time, this would not have been possible,” Lin said.

“I truly believe that music is healing and speaks to the heart directly in a very special way. That is why I was determined to make this high-quality show happen with our very small budget.”