Because of its relatively close proximity to Hollywood and the entertainment industry, Scripps College students often have the opportunity to work with industry professionals from all walks of life. And sometimes, when the stars align, the entertainment industry comes to Claremont.
Such was the case on September 23 when singer-songwriter Kina Grannis came to The Claremont Colleges. Grannis, known for creative YouTube music videos that landed her a deal with Interscope Records and shot her to stardom, shot an acoustic version of her recent song, “Dear River,” at Claremont McKenna College. For the dual vocal recording and video shoot, Grannis and her team asked students from the Joint Music Program to sing back-up vocals for the song’s chorus.
“I’ve been a fan of Grannis since I was in middle school,” said Abby O’Brien ’18, one of several Scripps students invited to participate in the shoot. “Getting the opportunity to work with her was like a dream come true.”
Students rehearsed vocals with Charles Kamm, associate professor of music and director of choirs, beforehand, and Grannis’ producers visited the week prior to the shoot to go over movements and percussion for the music video portion.
“It was great for members of The Claremont Concert Choir and Claremont Chamber Choir, as well as student-led a cappella groups, to experience the music industry side of music making through participating in this video shoot,” said Professor Kamm. “I think we all learned from this and had fun at the same time.”
The production was filmed on Claremont McKenna’s Pritzlaff Field while vocals were recorded from behind the field’s bleachers. Grannis and her crew raced the sunset and dodged the occasional blares of Amtrak horns, miraculously limiting all but a few noise interruptions to between takes.
Students participating in the recording sang a folksy back-up accompaniment, providing additional percussion with a soft clap-and-stomp routine as Grannis crooned with an acoustic guitar. At the end of the shoot, the producers thanked the choir and faculty for their participation and began breaking down the set as Grannis posed for photos with students.
Alyssa Lew ‘16 said the most rewarding part of the experience for her was seeing how happy Grannis was with the students’ participation: “I can’t wait to see what the final product looks and sounds like – and now I can say I’ve been in a music video!”
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