Unhappily ever after

This year, the band, chorus, and drama club students and I are thankful for so much! Thanks to the research done about Covid transmission, teachers were able to make well-informed decisions about how to keep the performing arts going during these unprecedented times. I am thankful for the support of Mrs. Asprocolas and Ms. DiVincenzo, the arts department chair, who helped all of our performances happen.

The drama club put on a great production of the musical Unhappily Ever After in November. It was a wonderful return to live performancing after our virtual version of Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr last year. Our actors had to learn how to breathe deeply while singing, dancing, and saying lines with a mask on. After not being on stage since November 2019, the drama club did a great job learning a lot in a short time. I would like to specially shout out our 8th graders - Eveilette Arellano, Molly Fink, Chloe Poe, Dominic Shinouda, and Colin Shornock - for a great final show as middle schoolers!

The band and chorus students were also able to perform live for the first time since December 2019 at our winter concert earlier this month. Though students sent in recordings for our virtual band and chorus concerts last year, it is totally different to perform on stage and have to follow the visual cues of a conductor plus have distractions of other instruments or voices around you. On top of remembering those skills, the band students also have to juggle pulling down a mask to play then replacing it when not playing and playing with a bell cover which impacts the sound a little bit. The singers, much like for the musical, have to wear masks when singing which makes diction and breathing more difficult.

Despite the new challenges thrown at us due to our safety protocols, I am very thankful for the students and their families for supporting the continued music-making in our school. I love being a music teacher for many reasons, and one of them is being able to hear students perform on stage. I am so thankful for the students involved in the performing arts, especially this year!