Creative Arts Night and Chorus Retreat

(Clockwise from left): MC Alex Perez, a demonstration of sand art and the chorus

10/4/09

On Thursday night Menlo hosted creative arts night to display the various talents that Menlo students possess in the arts. Because sports get most of the attention in a school it is important to have a week to acknowledge the arts, creative arts week and a night to bring them all together in a display that parents can see, too.

From my point of view, this is how the night went down.

6:23: Arrive at school and skulk around the back to avoid the attention of my chorus teacher, Ms. Linford, because I am late for the sound check/rehearsal. I hid behind a few art booths, kept my head down walking to the stage and discreetly hopped up in the back row to sing the last few verses of "I Believe."

6:35 End rehearsal and bring backpack to the chorus room for voice warm-ups and last minute advice. A huge carton of goldfish is in the chorus room to the delight of many and Ms. Linford attempts to speak over 45 members of the mixed, men's and women's chorus with little success.

7:00 I retreat to the empty student center and a cleaner allows me to study in their alone. It is difficult to prepare for a math quiz over the incessant drone of a vacuum cleaner.

7:15 People mill about outside and the students hang out in the quad

7:30 I take a seat in a back row as parents file in and creative arts night starts. Most of my friends continue chatting and don't join me. The only friend who sat with me leaves for a more exciting venue of hanging out in the back and I am left with a teacher for company.

7:40 The orchestra starts off with a typically boring and epically long piece. Not feeling well, I take advantage of this and "rest my eyes" for the entirety of the song. Too bad they have bright lights trained on the audience, I would have had myself a nice nap.

7:55 The night continues with an awesome sand-light art video, a cool performance from rent by Carly, a video about design thinking from moviemaking, JV and varsity jazz band performances with multiple false endings, too many improv solos and of course, pitiful squawks from numerous instruments. The Knightdancers also performed and drama performed a scene from the upcoming play "Into the Woods."

8:40 I performed with chorus and we sang "I Believe."

8:55 Before leaving I made sure to cram as many of the complimentary snacks and refreshments as I could onto my small plate before leaving.

Yesterday, yes Saturday, as in the weekend, I spent the entire day in Half Moon Bay for an all-chorus retreat. One might ask, what exactly was the purpose of the chorus retreat? To that I answer, to take away a Saturday and devote it entirely to practicing songs.

We had to arrive at Menlo at 8 in the morning and about 45 chorus students, along with the teacher and a few chaperones crammed onto a school bus. This may sound snobby, but why couldn't we have gotten a charter bus? There were 45 people for an all-day event, this wasn't some little weekday sports excursion. Besides, the JV baseball team got a charter last year for a game against Woodside. Less than half the people for less than half the time the bus ride takes.

I was sandwiched in the back row between a hulking football player and the window with nothing to do except read a local San Mateo newspaper.

I don't know what I was expecting when we got there, but it wasn't it. I thought that we would practice in the morning and then perform in front of the church or in downtown Half Moon Bay in the afternoon. I was wrong. We basically had the equivalent of 3.5 chorus classes on our retreat as we practiced old songs and new songs in a church.

Ms. Linford was managing 45 students, so we weren't always singing. I made sure to take full advantage of the down time and played Connect 4 on an iPhone and games of hangman on the back of the day's itinerary with Richard. If you're curious, I won on the words "hymnal" and "incarnadine."

For lunch some friends and I went to San Benito Inn. They make their own bread their and

I got half a pastrami melt and lentil soup with ham. After bidding goodbye to a friend who was going home "sick," we returned to the church for more singing.

The trip to the beach was brief because everyone wanted to get home. But, the limited time was fun and I threw around a football in the vicious wind and somehow managed to get an incredible amount of sand in my hair.

When I woke up the next day I was surprised and disappointed to realize that it was Sunday, and I needed to do my homework. It felt like Saturday was a school day and I wasn't able to take advantage of the weekend.

Photos are from flickr and were taken by Pete Zivkov.