If the band Panic at the Mayo triumphs at Morristown Onstage this week, members may claim an unusual first: The first group in the contest’s 14-year history to win without ever performing — or even rehearsing — together.
“There are members of the band that I’ve only met in person one time,” says vocalist Gillian Erlenborn.
The pandemic has turned the world upside down. That includes talent shows. Morristown Onstage goes virtual on March 10, 2021.
Which means the dozen music teachers who comprise Panic at the Mayo will sing and play Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke in Brady Bunch style, as separate windows in a pre-recorded video.
All the parts– vocals, horns, violins, guitar, bass and drums– were recorded separately by band members, at their homes or schools.
Frelinghuysen Middle School band teacher (and Panic trumpeter) Tim Beadle mixed the audio, and Erlenborn, who teaches choir at FMS, stitched the videos together.
She also helped produce a video entry for the choir, another finalist in Morristown Onstage. (The choir sings Come Alive from The Greatest Showman.)
Video editing is a skill Erlenborn developed of necessity over the last year. She credits include an 8th grade graduation piece, and a video farewell from graduating middle schoolers to their teachers.
Social distancing has posed many challenges for musicians.
“In the middle school we’ve been trying to find good ways we can play without playing, and sing without singing, and all of this crazy stuff,” says Erlenborn, a graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton who is in her third year of teaching.
Morristown Onstage is a fundraiser for the Morris School District, where all the members of Panic at the Mayo teach. Competing in this virtual show serves a couple of purposes for them, Erlenborn says.
“So many of us are musicians by trade, and we long for that opportunity to make music with other people. This is a cool way to do that safely,” she says.
They also hope to give their students some reasons to smile. And Sir Duke, a bouncy, uptempo tribute to Duke Ellington, seemed like the perfect vehicle.
“It gave us the opportunity to make music about music for our music students,” she says.
The tune also lent itself to a wide range of instruments.
Ariella Schwam played euphonium. Saxophone duties belonged to David Gallagher and Ariel Ocasio, who also took a turn on bass. The virtual violin section consisted of Deb Carroll, Sam Tomblin and Norma Davis. Brad Marullo played guitar and Ross Chu manned the drums.
Lee Mamolen and Mary Worts rounded out the vocals.
Gallagher, Chu and Marullo are past contestants in Morristown Onstage; Marullo’s SteppingSTONE Band was the audience favorite in 2015. Panic spans generations, too: Davis had Tomblin as a student.
They are vying with 13 other acts for prize money and bragging rights. The show is open to amateur entertainers who live, work or attend schools in Greater Morristown, and to Morristown High grads.
It’s organized by the Morris Educational Foundation. Erlenborn is a huge fan. An MEF grant bought handbells, ideal instruments for her socially distanced classes.
In a handbell choir, she explains, “everyone is as important as the next person. You can’t hide in the soprano section, you can’t be one of the trumpets. You are your two notes, and if your two notes aren’t there, then those two notes just don’t happen.”
Nervous students inevitably rise to the occasion, Erlenborn says. Kind of like her virtual bandmates in Panic at the Mayo.
“You’ve got your portion, you’ve got to take care of you, and just hope the music happens!” she says with a laugh.
The ensemble has not pondered how it might divvy up the $1,000 top prize. Erlenborn says the goal was to have fun.
Along those lines, victory would bring another perk: A chance for Panic at the Mayo to play live, for the first time.
Wednesday’s winners will be invited to perform at the Mayo Performing Arts Center for Morristown Onstage 2022.
Morristown Onstage is presented by the Morris Educational Foundation. Tickets to the March 10, 2021, virtual show are $25, $50 and $100.
