Students spreading joy and positivity during year of online music

Heidi Korte is highlighting a year of growth in her music students in her usual fashion - a music parody.

Just over a year ago, everything went online for Korte, including her music lessons. Now that performances were of the question and everyone was meeting online, she wanted to find a way to keep her students engaged and enjoying music.

"I decided that instead of singing less, that we would sing a ton more," the musician says.

Heidi Korte is highlighting a year of growth in her music students in her usual fashion - a music parody.

Since April 15 of 2020, Korte has been asking her students to join her in making daily videos on Instagram. At first, they battled virtual stage fright, feeling vulnerable sharing their voices. 

Watching them go from shy singers to proud performers, Korte came up with a plan.

"All of my music ideas happen on my bicycle, that is just where I get them. I got this idea in December and I was like oh this would be so good but I don't want to do the video editing," she says, knowing how much work it would be.

Her idea? A parody of the opening of the musical Waitress.

After the idea rumbled around in her head for a few months, her student teacher Ainsley Beveridge volunteered to do the editing.

Korte went full-steam ahead writing the lyrics and sending them off to her students. The real work began once she got the videos back the next week.

"If I am being honest, it was messy at first because they all recorded separately. I actually lined up all their Ts and their Ds," she says. "Think of 36 people with the word right."

Korte things that all took her 28 hours to do. The teacher says the bulk of the video work was done by Beveridge, who is a nurse, who spend closer to 60 hours on the edits.

The video features students, along with some cameos. MTYP and RWB Director Cheyenne Schroeder kicks off the video with an appearance, and Korte's own brother and niece joined.

Korte says "it feels like we have been sitting on this egg waiting for it to hatch for a month and a half" and is proud to share the video.