PORTFOLIO PIECE 1
Maestra Music Mainstage Technical Workshop
After Broadway shut down because of the pandemic, Maestra Music, a group that provides support, visibility, and community to the women who make the music in the musical theater industry, started a virtual technical workshop series as part of their education arm. I was asked to present two virtual workshops on keyboard programming using Apple's MainStage.
​
The use of MainStage in musical theater pits from Broadway, to community theater, to educational and worship houses, has become increasingly popular in the past decade. With ever decreasing budgets for musicians and an increased desire for a more contemporary sound, the need for programmed keyboards to augment and enhance has become a permanent fixture in modern pits. It is not uncommon to see two to three programmed keyboard books in an orchestration, and there are pianists and Music Directors who now specialize in playing a MainStage programmed keyboard book. A MainStage rig requires extra foot pedals, the use of a Macintosh computer, a digital interface, MIDI cables, and programmed patch changes.
Â