Published February 12, 2021
Chattanooga, TN – Due to COVID shutdowns, restrictions and lack of attendance to live events during the pandemic, many venues and organizations have been forced to reimagine how they handle musical performances.
Chattanooga State Community College‘s Department of Fine Arts is no exception as they plan to present a series of nine musical events, all virtual, starting in March.
All performances will be live-streamed or pre-recorded and available on YouTube.
Thursday, March 4: The Chattanooga State Symphonic Band, consisting of college students, students from the STEM School of Chattanooga and Collegiate High, as well as community volunteers will perform. Watch Here.
Friday, March 5: The Chattanooga State Concert Choir presents choral and vocal masterworks, featuring music faculty, students, and guest artists. Watch Here.
Thursday, March 25: A Faculty Trio Concert featuring flutist, Cindy Solfest-Wallis, clarinetist, Nicholas Hartline, and pianist, Alan Nichols will present an evening of trio works. Watch Here.
Thursday, April 1: Music Faculty will perform classical, Broadway, and Jazz favorites. Selections include works for piano, guitar, voice, and other instruments. Watch Here.
Tuesday, April 6: The Student Chamber Concert will perform a variety of repertoire for small ensembles featuring various student chamber ensembles, led by Cindy Solfest-Wallis and Nicholas Hartline. Watch Here.
Monday, April 19: The Chattanooga State Jazz band presents an evening of jazz standards, directed by Jay Stanfill. Watch Here.
Tuesday, April 20: Graduating students of the Associate of Fine Arts in Music degree program will present a recital of solo and chamber music, featuring repertory of both vocal and instrumental genres. Watch Here.
Saturday, April 24: The Chattanooga State Concert Choir, music faculty, and guest artists present “Figaro in a Nutshell.” This concert will highlight favorite scenes, arias, duets, and choruses from Mozart’s opera, “The Marriage of Figaro.” Watch Here.
Thursday, April 29: Chattanooga State’s Symphonic Band, directed by Nicholas Hartline, will present an evening of band literature themed, “America.” The concert will feature great composers and compositions of the American band repertoire. The Symphonic Band consists of college students, students from the STEM School of Chattanooga and Collegiate High, as well as community volunteers. Watch Here.
Separate from academia, the former Camp House Songwriters Stage launched a new online venue for Chattanooga area musical artists and writers to meet and compete in January.
Dubbed “Chattown Stages,” the website and Facebook page aim to provide Chattanooga artists a space where they may do more than just barely survive the crises, but thrive.
Chatt Town’s website states that, “Nothing can replace the intimate experience between artist and audience that was so incredible at the Camp House, but like much of current life, we are adapting.”
The latest entries / musical performance can be viewed here with each entry linked to a YouTube musical performance by a local musical artist.
In each contest series contestants submit a video to be judged and voted upon. At the end of the open submission period judging and voting determines the first round of eliminations.
Remaining contestants then submit a second video to be judged for the second round of eliminations, resulting in finalists who compete for the awards packages.
Chattown Stages says that, “This contest series is technically a competition, but is truly a showcase for the amazing talent we have in our city (Nashville has nothing on us!). The Songwriters Stage has been a career launching right of passage for many local artists, and will continue to be so in this new form.”
Chattown Stages will be entirely online until successful public gatherings are once again possible.
However, some organizations state that they feel confident, and also responsible, for maintaining the connection in-person connections in the Chattanooga community.
Both the Chattanooga River Market and Collegedale Market will be featuring live music every day they are open beginning in March.
The Chattanooga River Market reopens March 12th, from 10am – 5pm, Fridays and Saturdays.
The Collegedale Market will reopen Sunday, March 14th and their current schedule shows them being open Sundays from 10am – 2pm through the end of July.
