DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the United States, recently presented its 14th annual “Christmas at DePaul” holiday celebration as a virtual event. Long before the semester began, the school’s administration knew it would need to make some big changes if the Christmas show was to safely go on during these unprecedented times. With some ingenuity and an assist from DPA Microphones, the school found a way to host the event virtually.

Leading into the school year, DePaul University’s Director of Operations & Events, Melissa Grady, knew it was going to be hard to gauge what would be possible in a COVID world. “We had to make the call very early that we were not going to have an in-person event this year,” she says. “The show’s artistic director, Tony Peluso, and production manager, Jamie Davis, both alumni of DePaul, worked closely with the university to create a plan that would allow us to pre-record our show. While the show looks different than it has in the past, we were still able to use the exceptional talents of our students, faculty, staff and alumni while following COVID protocols to make Christmas at DePaul a reality this year.” Dan Steinman, one of the professors in the University Sound Recording Technology Department, was instrumental in making the show a success.