Performing Arts: Dan Gilbert

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the performing arts in our schools, state, and around the world took a tremendous hit: no singing or playing instruments inside, no audiences, virtual performances only, reduced rehearsal times, shorter class periods. It was a lot to take in, and almost painful to share, when I informed my students that until the foreseeable future, we would not be playing or singing in person.

Yet in spite of this challenge, we found ways to be creative that challenged our norm, exploring music from different perspectives than the traditional curriculum and traditional concert calendar afforded us. And we made some magical things happen.

After nearly 9 months without seeing the Concert Band in person, we gathered for the first time faced with a new, temporary reality: no playing instruments inside. Unfortunately, the class began in Quarter 2, at the beginning of November, and it was far, far too cold out to play instruments without damaging lips and equipment. And so, we set on a new, strange path: a Percussion Ensemble.

While students were apprehensive at first, claiming they didn't know how to play percussion, they were soon engrossed in playing and adapting their skills from their normal instruments to this new, exciting world of percussion. A quick sidebar: I have heard many a student in the last 6 years of teaching lament the fact that they don't play percussion, because it "looks cool!". Well, students finally got a chance to "look cool," and they sounded AWESOME.

Below are the three pieces we recorded and distributed in the Winter, 2 Holiday tunes and 1 Pop song. I hope you enjoy!

By far the most ambitious project we took on this year in Performing Arts was the Theater "experiment". Faced with uncertainty of whether we would be able to have a live audience or pull in revenue from any performance we might put on, I decided very early on I wanted to try something...unique. I wanted to work with students to write, produce and perform their very own, original play. For many students, the theater experience is focused almost entirely around their individual parts or jobs. My goal with this production was to have students coordinate, decide upon and contribute to the intricacies of theater: costume and prop design, set design and building, lighting and sound design, musical scoring, publicity, and all of the other aspects that go into a theater production.

The project spanned nearly 8 months: writing began in September, casting happened in November, rehearsals began in December, and we finished recording in the end of April. We faced many hurdles, from scheduling difficulties between the two cohorts of students, to the sudden in-person time lost due to active Covid-19 cases. But as I told the students on the very first day of rehearsal, we had no idea if the project would be shut down, or even what the final product would look like, but our focus should be on the process and the community we create rather than the end product.

I'm so, so very proud to say that we were able to pull off something incredibly special. The show is a little over 3 hours long (we...wrote a lot) and full of humor, something desperately needed at this time. There is a YouTube link below to the performance, free and accessible to the public. I definitely encourage you to check it out!

MCHS Players Present: "A Plague Upon Me; or How Not to Save a Life"

Concert Chorus has been one of the most challenging courses this year, logistically. Not being able to sing until after February Break meant that we did not start singing until the 4th Quarter, which gave us a lot of time to really get into the the theory and technique behind singing, as well as forming some really strong bonds, discussing the vulnerability and social anxiety that exists in the arts.

The work displayed below is a sampling of the work we completed this year: on the left is a poster made by a student about choral technique concepts to keep in mind while singing, and the other is an original composition that was performed by the entire ensemble!

Jazz Band and Chamber Singers got hit pretty hard, between scheduling, and singing and playing restrictions. Chamber Singers were able to get together for a little bit before Spring Sports season, but Jazz Band was lucky enough to rehearse twice a week through most of April, May and June. The rehearsals were short, the band was split between cohorts, but we had a great time working on some repertoire for next year!