ENTERTAINMENT
Anthony Jasso
Chronicle Reporter
Choir Director Lisa Hertzner uploaded a virtual choir performance of The Voices of Hollywood singing the infamous song, “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong on Thursday, March 18. This particular performance wasn’t catered to a specific holiday but as an uplifting message to the staff and students of Hollywood High School.
The performance opens up with a scenic beach background with the neat touch of having the title of the song being made up of the choir members’ 44 individual screens. As the opening title screen dissipates, the faces of the choir appear with Ms. Hertzner directing them in real time. It adds a more realistic quality to an online performance. As the song commences, the choir members begin to fade only to reveal a background of green trees and blossoming roses. It gives the viewer a taste of that beautiful world that The Voices of Hollywood want you to see.
The background returns to black and the choir becomes visible once again to highlight resonance of the collective voices. However, this doesn’t last too long as the boxes begin to fade once again. This time to reveal a beautiful scene of natural blue skies filled with clouds and a sun that shines so bright it shines white. Then the background begins to darken and transitions to a night filled with streaking stars. The night ends and is replaced with an eye catching rainbow that overlooks a vast plain.
The rainbow leaves and a hand writing on a chalkboard can be seen. The time it takes to write the message builds anticipation into the viewer. As if on cue, as the message is about to finish, you can hear the choir sing the words “I love you” while you see it written in chalk. Perfectly timed lyrics and scenery give more depth to the performance and show how much care and effort went into the video.
The performance continues to show grand images of beautiful natural scenes and heartwarming messages sent to the hearts of those watching. It becomes clear that the backgrounds aren’t there just for show and were synced up with the lyrics to follow through with the overall message. The reason as to why the performance exists. It’s a reminder that there are still good places in the world even if you can’t see it.
The performance gives you a second to pause and listen to singing voices that reassure you that there is good in the world. The message goes beyond the choir and beyond the performance itself. It is a wonderful world, so don’t lose faith in it.