Pruthvi Nukala, Arts and Tech Editor
@nukala_pru77565
On February 11, from 7-8 pm, the entirety of the NCHS music department performed together for the collaborative concert. Despite separate performances from each group, the highlight of the concert was the collaboration of students from band, orchestra, and choir that came together to perform a piece with scenes from the Disney movie Frozen playing in the background.
There was not as much of an emphasis on rehearsals for the different music groups together; rather, each group emphasized the importance of their own piece. “The Choir prepared for the concert by rehearsing each piece on our own before joining the Band and Orchestra for the dress rehearsal,” senior choir student Daniel Yoo said.
One of the biggest challenges of the concert was time management. “The most challenging part of the collaborative concert was how little we collaborated beforehand,” Daniel said. “The concert takes place during an awkward transition phase from the winter concert to the spring concert, which accounts for the time crunch. As a result, we only had one joint-dress rehearsal to hear how each ensemble blended with the rest and fix smaller issues.”
The teachers managing the event had to deal with many moving parts and almost a hundred students. Daniel thanked the many who contributed to the performance: “The Frozen medley, a collective piece between the Choir, Orchestra and Band, featuring dynamic stage lighting and clips from the movie, was made possibly by our auditorium manager, Mr. Whitlock,” he said. “Despite having limited time in the period immediately following winter concerts, each ensemble met the task with vigor and purpose, which I think is a real testament to the vision of our directors and work ethic of the performers.”
Big concerts like these aren’t all perfect, and, at certain times, things will go wrong; the performance is made by the directors’s and actors’ ability to move on from mistakes. “I sang next to a drum kit all night, almost knocked over a few microphones with a chair, and watched a tiara get passed around until it ended up on Mr. Ficks’ head,” Daniel said. “Yet, I’ve learned that the best way to expect the unexpected is to bring your best effort, stay calm, and smile, even when on the inside you don’t know what’s going on.”
This concert was the culmination of students’ hard work and dedication. “Every musician overcomes problems by bringing their dedication, focus, and most of all synergy,” Daniel said. “I think it all came together very nicely. It was an honor to be onstage with band and orchestra members, appreciating all of our hard work that made this event possible.”
