On June 4 at 7 pm in the auditorium, the NVD music department held its end-of-year concert, featuring selections from the vocal choirs, bands, and string orchestra. As one of the final performances of the school year, the concert gave students a chance to showcase the progress they have made throughout the year while performing familiar melodies that many audience members could recognize and connect with.
This concert centered around popular music, also known as “pops.” Ranging from classic hits from the 1960s to themes from blockbuster films, the program brought together music across different styles and generations.
“The theme for the June concert this year was “pops” which means any form of popular music,” instrumental director Danielle Wheeler said. “For the part of the bands and orchestra I chose movie music. I thought it would be a fun way to engage our audiences while keeping the music challenging and exciting for our students as well.”
By choosing familiar music, the concert created a more relaxed and energetic atmosphere than a traditional classical performance. Many of the songs were recognizable to students, families, and teachers, allowing the audience to engage and interact with the performances.
“We hope the music selections give the audience a really enjoyable and nostalgic experience listening to familiar music that might jog memories, and watching this familiar music in a live performance,” choral director Meghan Magnus said.
Wheeler expressed similar ideas, emphasizing that the concert was meant to feel lively and engaging for audience members.
“I hope that the audience feels like moving in their seats, singing along, and/or going home and watching the movies again,” Wheeler said. “I hope that we inspire joy in our audiences with these familiar tunes.”
Freshman Ella Nichols said the music choices made the concert feel more open and enjoyable for people who may not usually be involved in the performing arts.
“For me personally, I thought the music choice for this concert was great,” Nichols said. “I felt it gave a great opportunity for non-band people to be able to connect with the performing arts. Even for the less recognizable pieces, they were all super fun to listen to and to play.”
Although the concert featured popular and familiar music, the pieces still came with challenges for performers. For the choir, one of the biggest difficulties was coordinating with instrumental groups.
“Our biggest technical issue is that every piece is collaborative with a small band or large, and we don’t get to rehearse together until the dress rehearsal,” Magnus said.
For band and orchestra students, the music was also technically demanding. Nichols said the concert included some of the most difficult music she has played as a band student.
“This concert’s music was probably the most difficult I’ve played in my career as a band student,” Nichols said. “There were multiple times where I thought to myself, ‘You know, I’m just not gonna play right here,’ but the desire not just to improve for myself, but the ensemble as a whole really helped me through those tough rehearsals.”
Overall, the end-of-year concert reflected the work students had put into the music program throughout the year. Through different selections, collaborative performances, and months of rehearsal, the concert gave both performers and audience members a lively and memorable way to close out the school year.
Nichols said she hoped the concert would leave audience members with a stronger appreciation for music beyond just the performance itself.
“I hope that, from our concert, the audience leaves with a newfound or renewed appreciation for music and the arts,” Nichols said. “I feel it’s extremely important to connect with the arts, even if you aren’t involved with the ensembles themselves.”
