Technology has allowed us to create virtually anything we can dream of. Throughout the pandemic, students have had to become quite creative in how to stay connected with their peers. The 8-Bit Orchestra came together at the end of the semester and put on a virtual performance for their fellow students to enjoy.

Each semester, the orchestra puts on a concert that showcases their talents. They are a full ensemble with over 70 members. Their main focus is playing music that is featured in video games. This year, they still held true to their beliefs and put out multiple videos of different members playing with each other.

Sam D’Amore, the President of the 8-Bit Orchestra, talked about what it was like to put together this virtual concert and some of the challenges the orchestra faced. As a large ensemble, they had to learn how to adapt to an online environment, “We were very limited in what we were able to put together for the orchestra. The prevailing sentiment, especially among the seniors I talked to, was disappointment in being unable to put on the concert we had planned.”

The orchestra faced a host of challenges that they had never faced before. One major setback D’Amore said was the lack of instruments, “Not everyone has access to their instruments at home, whether it was left on campus, or they simply do not own their instrument. Every person had their own unique challenges, and as a voluntary RSO, we had to work with what our members were able to contribute.”

D’Amore said that they had to arrange this new performance in about a month. New music was sent out, members had to learn it, and everyone needed to record themselves playing. “This shorter period of time-limited how much we were able to put together, but I think we were happy with what we managed to do.”

The idea of this virtual performance came about when the executive board came up with the idea of bringing the orchestra together again. The board didn’t want members to miss out on performing. The music directors came up with the arrangement, and on the day of the original in-person concert, they streamed it on their Twitch channel. 

The members of 8-Bit and their love of music are what motivated them to create this virtual performance. “We wanted to do what we could to put on a performance despite the circumstances, and we did our best to make the virtual [one] as good as we could,” D’Amore said. 

As we head into another virtual semester, D’Amore talked about what this would look like for the orchestra. “We have asked all of our arrangers to arrange pieces for smaller sections in the ensemble. We also hope to put together one piece that involves everyone in the ensemble.”

The future for 8-Bit Orchestra is bright, whether it happens online or in person, “As an orchestra we hope to be able to keep doing what we do best: promoting video game music as an art form and giving UD students the opportunity to share their love for video game music with others.”

As we have all learned these last few months, nothing is certain, but D’Amore said, “The orchestra will keep making music, no matter what.”

If you want to check out the virtual performance, click the link below!

8-bit Orchestra YouTube Channel

This blog post is written by our Division of Student Life student intern Ariana Pelosci.