March 22, 2023
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Arts & Entertainment C3
Jazz band members play spring concert By Alex Dinh
PRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF SEAN MURPHY
ON YOUR TOES: Rachel Reiff ’25, Lily Tamkin ’25, Sabrina Hamideh ’25 and Amelia Chiarelli ’25 perform a piece for audience members. Many dances at the performance were choreographed by students.
Dancers perform in “Elements” showcase in Rugby Auditorium By Amber Zhang Students in the Upper School Dance Program performed in the Elements dance concert March 10 and 11. The production featured 19 group and solo dances in a variety of styles, most of which were student-choreographed. Upper School Performing Arts Teacher Queala Clancy said several elements of dance are important in conveying emotions through the medium. “Body, energy, action, time and space are crucial to embody and execute [a performance],” Clancy said. “As a performer, you are the vessel, and it is your job to tell the person’s story; it is your job to take on the energy and push it out.” Shiara Navarro ’25 performed a contemporary solo “Cardigan,” that she also choreographed. Navarro said that she felt a sense of accomplishment after completing the show. “I was very nervous at first, because I was worried about my choreography, but everyone is so wonderful, and we were able to
collaborate and work together,” element is.” Navarro said. “I am very happy Arely Monterroso ’24 with the finished result.” performed a solo entitled “My Hank Schoen ’24 performed Bridge of Past to Future.” The a modern-jazz solo entitled dance was a blend of cultural “Colors” in his first dance dances from Latin America as well recital. Schoen said the as hip-hop, created experience was gratifying with the intention of and helped him gain representation and experience dancing in cultural awareness front of a live audience. of dance forms from “This was my firstaround the world. ever show,” Schoen said. “It feels really good “It felt good to do, and to be able to represent [the concert] was like a my culture and meld weight off my shoulders. it with my own style, L. Wood [Performing] helped and to be able to put Shiara me build confidence that on stage and Navarro ’25 and comfortability on receive such good the stage.” feedback from the Clancy said that the crowd,” Monterroso said. conceptual idea of Elements was The second show included important in allowing her to an award ceremony for the support her students. performers. Lauren LaPorta “To me, Elements is ’23 was given an award for acknowledging the individual Outstanding Choreographer, dancers and the dancers Monterroso won an award collectively,” Clancy said. “It is for Dance Activism, Rachel best to acknowledge them within Reiff ’25 won an award for their element, so we create this Outstanding Performer and platform that allows them to Schoen won an award for embody and share what their Commitment to Dance.
Students performed in small groups at the Jazz Combo Concert in Rugby Theater on Feb. 25 and 26. The combos, drawn from Jazz Band, Studio Jazz, Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Rhythm Section, performed with direction from Jazz Directors Chris Sullivan and Matthew Yeakley. Jazz Band performed songs including Dolphin Shoals from Mario Kart 8 and Naima by John Coltrane. Saxophonist and Jazz Band member Eric Vartany ’24 said playing in front of his peers was calming despite the liveliness of the concert. “It was stressful to play in front of an audience, but it's very fun once you're up on stage, and you can feel the music running through your veins,” Vartany said. “Then you hear the crowd cheering for you, and it’s very relaxing, despite it being so energetic.” Sullivan said he enjoys seeing his students’ hardwork come to fruition in concerts. “These are, in many cases, life-changing performances or moments in time, and I have a bird’s eye view of that,” Sullivan said. “It’s very gratifying for me to see all their hard work pay off and get to play in front of an extremely supportive audience.” Sullivan said he enjoys passing down his passion for musical instruments to his students and helping them grow as musicians. “It’s gratifying to share this passion that I developed when I was in high school and see this process unfold with my current students,” Sullivan said. “It’s great to show them recordings and repertoire and then have them cling on to it, go into the room next door and start working on it.” Bassist Manos Vourgourakis ’25 said performing with his peers in a smaller group allowed him to have a more dynamic
concert experience. “You really get to showcase your ability a lot more in the combo concert, and it was just a fun environment to have all my friends there and do what we love,” Vourgourakis said. “There are people in Jazz who are really good, and they are people who just started, and we’re all great friends.” Vourgourakis said he enjoys improvising with his friends on stage and appreciates the creativity they share. “Especially if you’re in a group with people you know well and you like playing with, you can go off of each other and react to what’s happening,” Vourgourakis said. “It’s just always new, so although you’re playing the same songs, the experience is always a little bit different because of improvisation.” George Ma ’25 attended the concert and said he wants to attend another in the future. “It was so emotional,” Ma said. “I wanted to cry, and it made me happy. It was an incredible concert, and I’d love to go again. The build-up to the Jazz band at the end was spectacular.” Ma said he appreciated the solo performances. “All of the soloists were very talented and they immersed me in the concert,” Ma said. “I especially enjoyed [Aiden Daneshrad’s ’24] alto saxophone performance.” Studio Jazz Band and Jazz Band will perform in Italy during a ten-day trip from March 25 to April 3. Sullivan said overseas trips like these allow the musicians to grow closer and improve their performances on stage. “Little things like being in the hotel, long bus rides and going out to these big group dinners really unite a group,” Sullivan said. “That unity translates to the stage and to the rehearsal space. When you have a group that gets along with each other, they also play well together.”
Students screen video art projects By Sabrina Hamideh Students in Honors Senior Seminar: Video Art showcased their films in an exhibition in Feldman Horn from Feb. 21 to Feb. 28. The exhibition, titled “SPECIAL TV MICROWAVE COMPUTER,” was made up of a collection of immersive multimedia audiovisual art installations from 17 students, enrolled in the class. Olivia Rahhal ’23, who resented at the exhibition, said she tried to capture students’ experiences with mental health in her installation. “It was a documentary about how different people experience anxiety,” Rahhal said. “I interviewed 11 people and played those interviews on iPads with headphones. I hoped to capture the idea that feeling anxious is more than normal and more than that, that it looks different. I feel a lot of anxiety, and knowing that other people also feel it has helped
me. The goal was to transmit that feeling to other people and to show people that no matter their circumstances, there is no wrong feeling.” Rahhal said she put a lot of effort into the showcase and is glad that other students have had a chance to interact with the piece that she produced. “It was a fun process, preparing for the showcase,” Rahhal said. “Our class put a lot of effort into our video projects and installations, and we all feel super proud of what we created. Knowing that I put a lot of work into this project, I was so excited to see classmates and other friends watch and interact with the final product.” Nick Guagliano ’23 said while presenting at the showcase was frightening at first, he is glad that people enjoyed his art installation. “For me, presenting the showcase was terrifying,” Guagliano said. “Because the [physical] structure of the piece was
not the most sound, I was worried about it falling over a viewer’s head. Over the course of the week that it was up, I was making quick fixes and changes to the interior of the box, but whenever I saw people sitting inside it, I felt waves of accomplishment rush over me as there were steps throughout its creation that I did not think would work out. I felt proud when things went according to plan.” Eva Goldrich ’25 said looking at the films at the exhibition inspired her as an artist. “I visited the exhibition during class as well as during some lunch periods,” Goldrich said. “I liked being able to see all of the exhibitions as it was inspiring to see how creative people can be with a medium like a video. I do not think that there was one installation that I did not like. Looking at the immense detail in the exhibition, I could see how much time and hard work went into each of the installations. It was a cool, immersive experience.”
FALLON DERN/CHRONICLE
ECLECTIC: Presentation Managing Editor Fallon Dern's '23 modern interpretation of the Phantom Tollbooth for her video art installation.