On Friday, Sept. 25, UNI School of Music celebrated their 39th annual scholarship benefit titled “A Platinum Celebration” with everything virtual in true 2020 spirit. The premiere aired at 7:30 p.m. and has received over 195 views as of Sept. 26.

The show opened with Jeffrey Funderburk, director of UNI’s School of Music. He addressed the viewers and talked about the changes that have been made to this year’s scholarship benefit as well as the lack of audience members. “Like everything in our daily lives some changes have had to be made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first time that we have had to present our SBC as a virtual event without allowing audience members in the space,” stated Funderburk.

He further went on to talk about the importance of the event explaining how the donations collected through it are essential in providing scholarships for the students in the department.

Funderburk also mentioned that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center which has been a home to the scholarship benefit since it opened. “We will celebrate that tonight by highlighting its great technology in concert with the beautiful acoustics. This facility has had a tremendous positive impact on the school of music as well as the entire cedar valley. It is a partnership that continues to thrive and is tremendously important for both the school of music and the performing arts center,” he said.

Dr. Stephen Kerrigan, executive director of the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, spoke about the challenges of putting up this concert in COVID-19 times and how UNI’s School of Music worked hard to overcome all the challenges. He also talked about the dedication the School of Music showcased towards ensuring the health and safety of its students and faculty. When asked about the challenges of COVID-19, he said they “reached out to epidemiologists and musicians from across the world to create a safe environment where our students can move forward in their music education.”

There are a lot of changes that have taken place, however according to Funderburk, the high quality performances that the concert is known for has not been affected such as the few surprises that they try to feature on every program. Everything is essentially the same with only one substantial difference: “The only thing that we could not do is find a way to provide in this virtual version, the champagne, chocolates and finger foods that have been a constant in previous events,” Funderburk joked.

The cast of the show, which used to be about 100 was also cut short to showcase a few performances by faculty and students as well as a guest performance by Carol Newer who performs on top of the Campanile on the university’s carillon. The concert included a variety of performances including UNI’s Faculty String Quartet, a video electronic music composition, piano, Opera UNI, flute and much more.

Throughout the show there are video appearances from President Mark Nook, VP of University of advancement Jim Jermier, and UNI School of Music scholarship recipient Lizzy DeJong. These speakers spoke about the importance of music on UNI’s campus and urging people who are able to donate to the program so that they are able to keep supporting their students and faculty.