Voices of Music is locally known as a group of dedicated performers drawn from the ranks of the Bay Area’s early music community. Run by harpsichordist/recorder virtuoso Hanneke van Proosdij and her husband lutenist David Tayler, the group sweats the details and gives luminescent performances.
On the broader scene, however, Voices of Music is known for its extremely high-quality videos of its live performances, put up on the group’s YouTube channel, which now garners 2 million pageviews a month and has devoted fans all over the world. Tayler and van Proosdij have done this work for 13 years now. Before the pandemic, it was an interesting aspect of VoM’s program; now, of course, it is an expertise that is in heavy demand.
So on Thursday, July 23, at 11 a.m. PT, VoM is conducting a free webinar covering the fundamentals of self-producing high-quality videos for YouTube and other social media outlets. Topics will include “a short, easy-to-manage reference list of best practices, gear, and software, and we will discuss the challenges of copyrights, the interconnectedness of streaming, social media, search rankings, and playlists.” The webinar is co-promoted by the Center for Cultural Innovation, Grants for the Arts, InterMusic SF, and Intersection for the Arts.
There are plans in motion for more webinars and, in best web practice, Tayler and van Proosdij are planning to address the needs of individual arts groups and performers. For them, it’s always been about expanding audience access by reaching listeners where they are. Although it’s suddenly the rage, Voices of Music’s success on streaming platforms is testimony to the fact that there is tremendous untapped potential for classical music organizations online.
