On Friday, February 12, Tri-M, the MHS music honor society, will be having its first virtually streamed live showcase of the year! The show will be shown on Twitch, an online streaming service. The show will be streamed on the account named fopamarbleheadmusic. How does Twitch work? Twitch is very similar to YouTube; you can search a name or category in the search bar, and videos of past or current streams will pop up. You do not need to have a Twitch account to watch a stream, but you won’t be able to interact with the stream. Moderators, mods for short, will watch the chat during the live stream, and anyone making inappropriate comments will be banned and their messages will be deleted. After a stream ends, it is saved to Twitch for 14 days, and Tri-M’s President will save it to a drive and upload it so it can be accessed whenever needed.
Now you might be wondering, why Twitch? When asked, the President of Tri-M, said “I have experience with streaming software like Streamlabs OBS, so Twitch was a no-brainer.” It would also be easier to encourage students outside of Tri-M to join the stream, not to mention how modern and accessible Twitch is. Previous shows were streamed on Instagram, but issues arose when streaming two people at once, and if a student didn’t have an Instagram account, they couldn’t be included.
Before the need for virtual streams, Tri-M showcases were held in-person in the High School auditorium. This year, due to COVID-19, performances will either be performed live or sent in as recordings which will then be shown. If a group is performing, they will be required to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols. This show is raising money for elementary school music teachers. All the money raised will go into making small instrument bundles and other supplies that students can take home with them! Donations can be made via GoFundMe or during the stream. So now that you know how the showcase will be streamed, mark your calendars for February 12th, for at 7 p.m. the stream will be live! I will be performing myself, and I hope to see you there.