LOUIS BIRRO
The renovation of our sanctuary is progressing along well! I couldn’t be happier with its progress! And I applaud all of you, the congregation of St. Gregory’s, for adapting so easily to our transformed space in Harris Hall. A lot of thought, planning, and work went into transforming it into a place of worship that would be inspiring, beautiful, and conducive to worship. Several months of preparation were necessary to make sure everything transferred smoothly and seamlessly because, in the end, we only had a short amount of time to make the transition happen. We were in the sanctuary one week and in Harris Hall the next!
The era of Covid brought many changes to our lives, many of which are now permanent fixtures. On the very first Sunday of the Covid era, we were challenged to bring the worship service to you in your homes so that we could experience worship together although being apart. Suddenly, my role expanded to that of a production manager and I immediately called my good friend Louis Birro and said “We gotta film a church service!” Without hesitation, he flew into action and we literally filmed our first service using his one camera and a microphone. It took several hours to capture as we had to stage it in segments and then we had to spend many hours piecing it all together to make it seamless. Believe it or not, it worked! After that first week, we began to figure out how to use Facebook Live and began broadcasting using our iPhones and iPad. It was truly a new era. Louis and I still filmed special services such as Christmas and Easter during this Covid time just as we had that very first service.
We knew that once we resumed in-person worship, we would still be needing to broadcast our services for those who would continue being together online. Eventually, we invested in a multi-camera/computer system and were able to rig our own sound equipment to produce TV quality productions every Sunday once we were back in person.
And, most recently with our transition to Harris Hall, we had to once again re-imagine how to continue the broadcasts of our services without disruption. There were so many things to consider—removing the cameras in the sanctuary and re-installing them in Harris Hall, configuring our in-house and online sound system to the new system in Harris Hall, and moving all the equipment, and making sure everything worked!
Louis Birro has been the one person on whom I’ve relied and trusted with the operation of the livestream system from the beginning. He’s been here EVERY Sunday, missing only ONE Sunday during these entire three years. His dedication and attention to detail have made our online services truly inspirational. He’s been around me for so long that he knows liturgy frontways, sideways, and backways and knows how to best capture the moment giving the viewer an in-person experience. The camera work he provides is truly outstanding and I would put our online services proudly alongside any out there. As a matter of fact, ours stands out as one of the finest on the internet.
Although rare, there can be glitches regarding the in-house and livestream sound system, internet, and cameras which are totally unpredictable and often unexplainable, but he always manages to overcome them and soldier on!
In the sanctuary, Louis was truly “behind the scenes” as his workstation was in the choir loft. Now, he’s in the back of Harris Hall in full view. So, the next time you’re in church and see him in the back at his “control booth” you’ll have a bit more understanding of what’s involved in making sure both live and livestreamed services go smoothly. I rely on him so much for making sure everything goes as well as it possibly can. Louis truly makes a difference in the life of St. Gregory’s. For him, I am most grateful.
Tim Brumfield,
Director of Music Ministries, Organist, and Choirmaster