Every year, all the music ensembles unite to perform in the Spring Concert at the start of May. The Notables, Glee Club, Orchestra, Jazz Band, and Rock Bands all perform the music they have prepared for months prior.
This year, the Performing Arts department took a new approach, separating the Rock and Jazz bands from the rest of the ensembles. They hosted their own concert on April 24 in Centennial Hall.
The HAVERROCK director, Mr. Kyle Struve, says that the idea for this new concert format came from the growing number of bands at the school.
“The rock band program has been growing to the point where we have four bands to put on stage, which was unprecedented for the school. And Mr. Hengst saw that growth in the program, and he gave us a vote of confidence to do our own concert,” Mr. Struve said. “In my opinion, that was a huge opportunity.”
“And we wanted to step up to the plate and hit it out of the park. So we put in a lot of extra time preparing and trying to get some sort of special guest collaborations on stage between middle school and upper school.”
The Jazz Band, along with the four rock bands (The Homecoming, The AfFORDables, The Macroband, and The Iron Men), each got their own set, with unique lighting and visual effects like fog.
Sixth Former Anthony Valentino, guitar-playing frontman for the school’s most experienced rock band, The Homecoming, was excited to see the setup for their concert.
“When we first arrived on stage, we actually found out that it was a much higher production value than usual, in terms of visual effects like the lights and the smoke,” Valentino said. “We had that time and space capabilities now that we weren’t sharing a stage with the other ensembles.”
Over the course of the concert, many audience members were snapping, clapping, or even singing along—a much more interactive experience than a typical Spring Concert.
“I tried to make it a little more of a conversational tone as if we’re inviting the audience into a rehearsal room,” Mr. Struve said. “Instead of a stiff presentation where everyone’s like waiting expectantly for something to happen, I tried to include the audience.”
The first official Rock Concert was also the last performance for Valentino. So, he made sure to go out with a bang.
“We think it went really well. It was our last performance. Especially for me, because I’ve been doing the rock-band program for the past four years, I know [Sixth Former] Matty [Jones] and I really wanted to give it our all,” Valentino said.
And it seems that the legacy Valentino and his other upperclassmen bandmates have created will not fade any time soon.
This is especially evident in the middle school rock band and the middle school members of the Jazz Band.
Sixth Former Justin Fan, an avid member of the Jazz Band, thinks these performances are essential.
“Playing instruments is a vital part of developing and learning,” he said. “Especially since so many kids in middle school are part of a band, and then in high school that disappears and no one continues playing instruments. I hope that we can see a change in that trend—where more people continue playing their instruments in high school.”
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the assistance of the Performing Arts Department faculty.
“We really want to thank Mr. Holdren, Mr. Hengst, Mr. Struve, Mr. Woodward, and everyone else in Centennial that helps us with setting up and working with us to make a great show happen,” Valentino said. “We really appreciate this great opportunity to leave our little legacy.”
