'Finding Harmony' pop-up concert inspired participants to lift their voices, come together

As the wind picked up and clouds blanketed the sky Saturday afternoon, Lower.com Field’s video screens were emblazoned with the phrase “Finding Harmony.” It was an invitation for the Columbus community to join together, sing together, and be part of something big.

The goal was to see a pop-up chorus of 20,000 “singing with one voice” as part of an as-yet-unnamed reality-TV series pilot for ABC, Disney, and John Legend’s Get Lifted film company.

Columbus has never attempted a chorus on this scale before, according to the Harmony Project. The event fell short of its goal in numbers (although ticket distribution was close), but not in spirit. Harmony’s Creative Director, David Brown, asked the crowd to show the world who Columbus is, and the world will see Columbus as warm and upbeat.

Harmony Project: Crew's new stadium perfect location for TV pilot concert

Given the Columbus Crew’s overwhelming community support during the “Save the Crew” era, the fact that its new home’s first public musical event assembled a huge choir to prove the power of community makes perfect sense. It was the right opportunity, and it surfaced at the right time.

Outdoor concerts: The Guess Who, Tame Impala and Tim McGraw among the performers coming to Ohio in May

Meanwhile, the Harmony Project stands for bridging social, cultural, racial, economical, and even geographical divides, and empowering the voices of the people — so, truly, they also are the right backbone for this project.

“This event is a milestone for the steps we are taking forward to build community in the way we want to see it,” said Peggy Meckling-Baker, Harmony’s director of communications. “We don't necessarily have to agree on how to vote, how to worship, or even how to live, but we can usually agree on small ways in which we can act as a community.”

Among the singers in the stadium were the Harmony chorus, dozens of Olentangy Local Schools students and staff, and thousands of excited community members. Virtually, choruses of Ohio Corrections inmates and students from across the country were on screen and will be part of the final product as well.

(Harmony Project has been involved in a music program for years at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.)

Participants eager to share in the experience

The chilly, gray weather, with its empty threat of rain, kept the event from reaching its attendance goal. It didn't dampen the excitement of the roughly 5,000 people in the stadium.

Ashley Bizzigotti and Drew Larsen, of Columbus, had four generations of family in the stadium: their two young children and Larsen's grandmother in the audience, and his mother in the ranks of the Harmony singers. “We’ve been to a few of (Harmony’s) rehearsals, and a bunch of their concerts,” Bizzotti said. “It’s just great, what they’re doing.”

Paula Harris of Reynoldsburg, who attended as a VIP, shares that supportive attitude. “(Harmony) is especially rewarding for the people who are in prison,” she said. “They have the opportunity to sing with the group, and it’s been amazing for the institutional system, to see (inmates) challenged and excited to give back to the community.”

Addie, a student from Olentangy Hyatts Middle School in Powell, admitted she wasn’t actually sure what the event was about, but she enjoys singing. “I thought it’d be a lot of fun, something to do with my friends,” she said.

Directions for Youth and Families brought 30 youth singers to the event. “We have an after-school program with singing and dance,” Marketing Director Vince Campise said. “We figured this would be a great opportunity for (the youth) to see what they can do — a couple people can make a big difference.”

Positive energy, 'coming together' part of 'Finding Harmony'

The first song selected for the pilot was Coldplay's "Up&Up" — full of positive energy, with a catchy refrain. Brown taught the refrain to the crowd by rote, quickly, and with evangelical vitality. (Participants also were able to practice with a recording before the event.)

The community group was a little shy at first, but when the cameras started rolling, the stands came alive. Hugs, joyful tears and smiles filled the video screens. Fingers pointed to the sky, voices chanting “Up, and up, and up!”

Broadway in Columbus: Broadway in Columbus 2022-23 season will include 5 shows new to Columbus

With just one rehearsal run-through and two takes, the first recording was complete.

Then, Brown led Harmony in an uplifting rendition of Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People," inviting the entire stadium to sing and dance along.

"Ah, that sounds like America today: 'we gotta live together,'" he said in a dull voice, after the first take, shrugging. Then his fervor returned. "No, we gotta live together! We have to!" The music started again; the smiles and dancing returned.

Details around when (and even if) the new series will air have not been released yet. But whether or not yesterday’s pop-up choir finds airtime, there’s no doubt that it did, truly, find harmony in the process.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Finding Harmony' pop-up concert brings thousands for TV pilot