By Jane Fitzpatrick, Features Editor
Gettysburg students are using computers, laptops, iPads, mobile devices, and all kinds of technology in accordance with the new remote learning styles which the school is adopting for the remaining weeks of the Spring 2020 semester. Remote learning is a way in which students and faculty can comply with the current health recommendations which inhibit large group gatherings and encourage staying at home as much as possible.
Just as colleges have been temporarily closing their doors, so have a number of other institutions for the safety of visitors, including art museums, concert halls, and theatres.
If students are able to connect to their education online using technical devices, they are also able to connect to the musical/theatrical entertainment and art exhibits that have also been closed off to them. Welcome to the world of live streaming and virtual touring.
A number of programs have updated their online resources in order to reach out to their audiences through the interwebs. Here is a list of just a few artistic places to explore from the comfort of your own home:
Nightly Met Opera Streams
https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/
The Metropolitan Opera recently announced that encore presentations of performances from their Live in HD series are now available to be streamed from their website for free
*Access to all Met Live in HD series performances are available to Gettysburg students for free through the college library
Berliner Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall
https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/home
For a fantastic orchestral experience from overseas, the Berlin Philharmonic is offering free live streamed concerts, which can be viewed on the television, smart phone, computer, or tablet.
Fashioning a Nation and Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting Online Exhibits
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/national-gallery-of-art-washington-dc?hl=en
The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC offers these collections to be viewed in their entirety online through Google Art and Culture. This link offers high quality images of the pieces along with information about specific works and artists.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art https://artsandculture.google.com/streetview/metropolitan-museum-of-art/KAFHmsOTE-4Xyw?hl=en&sv_lng=-73.9639335&sv_lat=40.7784881&sv_h=13.502986831587169&sv_p=-0.8417950341851821&sv_pid=2M48zXVGoxk6SU026QpGAA&sv_z=0.9589502641601105
Click your way through exhibits in the Met as if you were actually there using Google Art and Culture. There are several pieces which operate as dropping points for specific galleries, including Figure of Isis-Aphrodite and Pieter Breugel the Elder’s The Harvesters. Information for these pieces are also provided for a deeper learning experience.
#TogetherAtHome
This live streamed concert series started by John Legend has been continually contributed to by a variety of popular music artists. To find links and videos, search #TogetherAtHome on Twitter and Instagram.
Ben Gibbard: Live from Home
https://found.ee/BenGibbard-LiveFromHome
Musical artist Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) has been streaming daily concerts online for free. He spends the time answering questions and taking song requests live and on Instagram from fans. Links to the streams are made available through Youtube and Facebook.
Everyman is All of Us: A Theater of Voices Podcast
The Gettysburg College Medieval Drama class will not be putting on their planned production of Everyman this semester for the campus community, but the class will be working on an audio version for all to hear. Professor Christopher Fee announced via Facebook this change of events, and he is pleased with the passion and resilience of his class.
“Never willing to blink in the face of doom, my intrepid class and I plan to produce “Everyman is All of Us: A Theater of Voices Podcast” both online and over the airwaves via WZBT 91.1” said Fee, “Look for more information to follow, as well as links and broadcast information. Thanks to Peter Naegele, Bryan Alexander, Josh Eyler, Patrick J. Fee, Russ McCutcheon, and Mark Drew for helping to get the ball rolling! Memento Mori!”
Remaining at home does not have to mean a sacrifice of learning through an immersive experience with the arts. Theatre, music, and art promote imagination and creativity, and they can serve as easily accessed forms of therapy, no matter who or where you are. These resources serve the public as a chance to explore what museums, theatres, and concert halls have to offer us from the comfort of our own homes.
