By Fariah Hasan
On Thursday, May 18, the annual Sounds of Spring Concert was held in the school auditorium. Forest Hill welcomed 400 parents, guardians and guests to our school to celebrate our amazing music program. I interviewed 4 performers about their experiences: Francesca, Nisvana, Avrilmari, and Elisa.
1) Which performance(s) were you a part of?
Francesca: I played the Pas de Deux (a grade 12 piece), Haydn Trumpet Concerto, Prokofiev Dance of the Knights, Libertango, and Pirates of the Caribbean with the mega band.
Nisvana: I was part of the intermediate/senior strings and the megaband performances.
Avrilmari: I was a part of 4 performances including: Intermediate Band – The Genius of Ray Charles, The Retro Belles – Put Your Head On My Shoulders/Until I Found You, Jazz Ensemble – Soul Sacrifice, and Mega Band – Pirates of The Caribbean
Elisa: I was a part of the Forest voices performances.
2) What was it like performing in front of such a large crowd of people?
Francesca: It was very scary if it was a harder piece, but I had some pieces that were easier that I was confident about, so it wasn’t too bad.
Nisvana: It was really incredible to see that so many people had come to support us. I actually didn’t feel very nervous, because I was really excited to finally perform our pieces.
Avril: Before I get on stage it’s always very nerve wracking. But as soon as I start playing I only focus on delivering the music and being present in the moment.
Elisa: It makes me feel fulfilled and so good because there you show the hard work that gives back in that moment.
3) What was your favorite part of the concert?
Francesca: My favorite part was the messages from the graduating grade 12s at the end and how Ms. Simas reacted.
Nisvana: Definitely the megaband performance. I always love hearing so many instruments and people playing together, and I think it was an amazing way to close the concert.
Avril: My favorite part of the concert was opening up with ‘The Genius Of Ray Charles’ medley. It was a beautiful way to start off the evening with a soothing and groovy piece.
Elisa: The strings performances were phenomenal.
4) What do you think could be done better next time?
Francesca: Of course, musicians always find mistakes in their performances, including me. But it can never really be perfect and we have to learn to value the performances holistically including the effort put into everything. This concert was a great one and I wouldn’t change anything, so I would say there is nothing to improve on.
Nisvana: Next time, I would love to feature even more performances and have a larger variety of music styles played.
Avril: I think that more attendance from students, showing more support and appreciation not just for our music department, but in every school event like this, is very important and is something that we can work better on.
Elisa: I’m not sure. For me it was perfect.
5) Do you think the concert was a success?
Francesca: Yes, I think the concert was amazing.
Nisvana: Absolutely! You could tell the work that was put into every piece, and I think everyone performed really well.
Avril: It was, if not, the best concert, in every aspect. The level of difficulty of all the pieces, the musicians’ time, commitment, and excellence, the sound techs doing their job to make us sound even better, and the crews working backstage making the concert seem effortless – I can say that all of that really came together to make one of the best school concerts.
Elisa: Oh yeah!! The concert was amazing and beautiful.
If you would like to see more photos of the concert, go to our FHCI photo stream!
Photo credits to: Taylan Ozgur Gunesdogdu