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In-person concerts have been recently reinstated here at Niskayuna High School. Instrumentalists and vocalists alike came together to perform for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 5th– approaching 2 years since March 2020– various ensembles were finally able to play for a live audience at their first concert. With its success, the concerts were allowed to continue. Of course, COVID-19 guidelines and precautions were instituted for the performances. For example, only two spectators per musician were allowed for contact tracing purposes and to limit the potential spread of the virus. Mr. Hughes, head of the music department and conductor of Symphonic Band, helped direct and manage these precautions. Others conducting the ensembles include Ms. Pizzino-Catalano with Bel Canto, Choir, Concert Chorale, Studio Singers, and A-Choired Taste, Mr. Mooney with Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Strings, Ms. McClenon with String Orchestra, Mr. Fisk with Jazz Band, and Mr. Pandori with Stage Band.
Symphony Orchestra performs at an in-person concert, featuring conductor Mr. Mooney and concertmaster Faith Borkowski
We interviewed and asked participants of the concerts for their opinions and thoughts on their experiences. These interviews were conducted based on the prompt, “what are your thoughts on the first concert after almost 2 years?”
We interviewed and asked participants of the concerts for their opinions and thoughts on their experiences. These interviews were conducted based on the prompt, “what are your thoughts on the first concert after almost 2 years?”
“It’s pretty good, the groups are all amazing. Even though we had to keep a little distance between each other, it was fun overall.” -Doris Yeung, vocalist
“I thought it went really well. Obviously, there are some things that could be worked on (like the stand falling over at the start, for example) but it was nice to be able to have an audience again! I just find it a little odd that they limit the spectators to 2 per musician for “contact tracing” when you can’t really trace where they sit in the audience. Other than that, I was glad to have an in-person concert as opposed to a digital one!” -Hayley Elsbree, violinist
“I would say it’s definitely exciting but kind of weird since it’s been so long... I do quite like being able to play pretty much like normal as a group again” -Cristina Rojo, clarinetist
“It was honestly one of the best things that has happened in a long time. It made my first performance with orchestra much more memorable as the first in-person concert in almost one and a half years. Concert recordings, be gone!” -Vera Amirbekian, flautist
“Oh yeah, it was awesome, I really enjoyed it. It was SO MUCH better than recording for virtual concerts. I really missed the in-person experience. Overall, I think it was so much fun to hear everyone play and to actually experience the on-stage concert feeling again.” -Sammy Sathiyaseelan, a violinist
“It was very exciting, as the virtual concerts were lame and anticlimactic. It was weird to have such a small audience—not all family members could be there due to COVID-19 restrictions.” -Kaitlyn Pack, violist
"I thought it went pretty well given that we haven't played together in a while. It was really nice to play together on stage again." -Faith Borkowski, violinist
Judging from the previous responses, most of the musicians felt very excited to play in person and on stage again. Although, some felt that COVID-19 restrictions were a bit unnecessary and served to lessen the concert experience as a whole. The COVID-19 restrictions were ineffective as mentioned by one of our interviewees because although each musician was limited to 2 audience members, social distancing wasn’t strictly enforced, and the audience basically sat wherever they wanted. Many people look forward to future in-person concerts and hope that the restrictions will diminish as the pandemic lessens in impact.
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