MU’s Music Business Technology Program Debuts Christmas Music Video

Millersville students from the Clair Brothers Music Business Technology program worked together to create another Christmas music video, following in the footsteps of the 2021’s Love to Give project and 2020’s O Come, Emmanuel video.  

This ongoing creative project started during the COVID-19 pandemic when live events shuttered, including on campus. “During the winter holidays in 2020, none of the ensembles could perform in person at the annual Glorious Sounds of the Season show,” explains Dr. Barry Atticks, associate professor of Music Business Technology. “Lilla Jul Rockeband, the rock band comprised of all students in the Clair Brothers Music Business Technology program, decided to make a music video. The students enjoyed making the video so much, we decided to do it annually.” This year’s video marks the third installment in the series. 

This year’s video, Winter Blitz 1799, is a cover of the song Ballroom Blitz by the band The Sweet from 1973. While Atticks taught an Audio for Video class last year, Millersville students worked with Historic Rock Ford to record actors, create sound effects and write music for the museum to use in their annual yuletide tour. “During the production of that show, I learned about the party called the 12th Night, which occurred on the 12th day after Christmas,” says Atticks. “I thought it would be great to do a song that showcased this 1799 party. It was the one night a year where there was a big ball of dancing, music, food, games and more.”  

Atticks says he worked closely with the curator at Historic Rockford to ensure that the hair, jewelry, dresses and food were as historically accurate as possible. If you watch the video closely, you’ll also see that they included games and customs of the era, including Blind Mans’ Bluff, cards and mistletoe.  

The music video and production were packed with members of the Millersville community, including 30 current students, two faculty members and two alumni, one of whom is the museum’s curator. Even the behind-the-scenes crew was almost entirely made up of Millersville students, and it was all filmed on site at Historic Rock Ford.  

Want to watch the video for yourself? Click here: Winter Blitz 1799: The 12th Night performed by Lilla Jul Rockeband