Dream of Love

By Lauren Anzalone

Echoing throughout the halls, not a person could pull away from the sounds of the Steinway piano. Captured by the young performer’s outstanding emotion, the audience follows Kally’s hands as they stretch to mirror Franz Liszt’s classic piano piece, Liebesträume.

For over thirteen years, Kally Bryant has played piano. Influenced by her parents and siblings, she has mastered many pieces throughout the years, one of her most recent being Liebesträume by Franz Liszt. This piece is considered a more modern classical performance as it does not include so many technical parts like those from the Baroque era.

In order to truly understand and master the pieces, Kally studies them extensively. She follows the sheet music, learns the notes, tempo changes, dynamic alterations and other intricacies that make the piece unique. Once she has studied it thoroughly and developed a strong understanding of the piece, she is able to incorporate modifications. This is where her creativity and artistic identity appears. While still keeping many aspects of the piece the same, Kally can choose to lengthen or shorten rests, sustain certain notes, or increase the volume of certain parts. These modifications can only be made to a certain extent, otherwise it is not true to the composition. These small changes are incredibly valuable as they are what enhance the emotional interpretation of the piece, displaying the performer’s art.

Emotional pieces like Liebesträume are interpreted differently depending on each performer. The piece’s title means “dream of love” and is inspired by a set of poems; it reflects bittersweet and somber feelings of a loss of love. This is incredibly important to know when performing as it can be reflected in the alterations made by the performer. Kally shared with me her interpretation of the song and how that affected her performance. She explained that the slower beginning of the piece reminds her of the initial stages of two people falling in love, the sounds feel like when you get butterflies in your stomach.

As it continues, she believes the two fall deeper for one another as the tempo and dynamics build up. Finally, she says the most dramatic part of the piece gives her the impression that the love that blossomed may still be present, but struggles and it be - gins to feel like everything is falling apart. There is a dramatic cadenza towards the end, signaling in Kally’s eyes, heartbreak. The last part of Liebesträume directly mirrors the initial sounds and mourns the love that has passed. Many interpret the piece as the process of grief after losing a loved one, but Kally chooses to see the piece in a less morbid light. es it provides to students, take away an experience. However, I am biased on this front.

After six months of studying and practicing, Kally performed Liebesträume in June of 2022 in the Concord Community Music School. I was fortunate enough to witness her dedication and creativity displayed in this final performance. Her performance and interpretation of the piece was beautiful.

In my freshman and sophomore year, every chance I had, I would hustle to the sugar house and hop in the back of the forestry truck to collect sap or help with the boil. It gave me options for things I could do on the weekends. I

A Change in The Flow of Syrup

By Griffin Stewart

There was a time when the sugar house was open 24/7—spewing hot steam high up in the air with sweet syrup flowing into paper cups and glass bottles. Now you will be lucky if you see someone taking a call in front of the building.

Along with the sugar house being closed down, a popular project period, maple sugaring, was absent from this year’s list. The project allowed students to immerse themselves in the New England tradition of maple sugaring.

I have two questions: will students ever get to make maple syrup again, and will the Sugarhouse be a relic of our past?

I sat down with Chris Jones, who is a sugaring hobbyist who has helped with the Proctor sugaring in the past. He informed me that the sap collection is still up and running, but sap will not be processed by Proctor faculty or students. This new knowledge made me upset to hear. I never thought I would hear Proctor, a school that is known for the unique experienc- could stop by on Saturday night for some syrup or just help out on Sundays rather than sitting in my dorm. It confuses me how this activity could go away.

The more people I talked to, the more I realized I am not alone in how I feel. Faculty and students shared their concerns. Some faculty said sugaring is integral to Proctor’s history and has occurred for decades. Students are sad that they can’t help out or stop by to enjoy a small sample of warm maple syrup.

During the revisit days, I talked to a member of the family now running Proctor’s sugaring operation. They used the sugarhouse on revisit days to show off Proctor’s Maple sugaring operations. While talking, I was handed a paper cup of syrup and saw the steam rise from the evaporator. I was told why the family company stepped in. “We want to get the program back on track … and bring back the sugar bush.” This is a fair thing to want, but that still doesn’t directly mean students can partake in the activity, so I asked if it would include students. It turns out they want to allow students more chances to participate in the activity, but because the family is new to Proctor sugaring, there are still things to work out.

In the meantime, all we can do is wait and see. Hopefully, steam will rise out of the sugar house next year, and the syrup will flow again.

Proctor Pedals

By Rohan Goswami

Twenty-one Proctor athletes speed down Route 11 on bikes, packed tightly side by side and tire to tire, trusting each other to keep pace and not cause a wreck. Despite the skill and attention required to be safe on the road and the strength and energy needed to complete these long rides, what makes it a favorite sport among its racers?

This year, the Proctor Cycling team has a total of eighteen student-athletes and our three coaches. Some athletes are new to the sport, others are returning or experienced cyclists. Kristen Farrell, Drew Donaldson, and Derek Nussbaum-Wagler are the coaches who provide outstanding leadership and skill training. They provide strategy and tips that aid all riders in being the best that they can be.

What are the team’s views on cycling as a sport? I talked to two riders; returning rider Grace Schad ‘23, and new rider Lucy Girouard ‘24. I asked them what got them into the sport and what they like and dislike about the sport.

Lucy and Grace have a lot of things that they love about cycling. Lucy said, “It’s the most fun sport I’ve done and the team is absolutely incredible. It is a phenomenal group of humans and every practice is filled with jokes and team songs. I love the feeling of being on your bike and I love to work out. It’s different from other forms of exercise.” Grace noted, “I like the fact that you can just zone out for an entire ride, and [that] can be surprisingly relaxing. And as Lucy said, the team is so great too.”

They both gave the same answer to one thing they do not like about the sport. That is that the weather and road conditions need to be good in order to ride. You can’t really bike in the rain on the wet pavement without risking your safety.

They both have different paths that led them to the team. “I started cycling with Proctor this year. I have cycled before, but just for fun.” Lucy told me. Grace joined the cycling team last year, at the same time I did. They both were urged by other riders to do the sport. Grace said, “My dear advisor, Kristen Farrell, is the coach, and she told me to do it.” Lucy was also persuaded by Kristen and one other person. “While I was on Euro, Rohan was very persistent about getting me to join the cycling team.”

This season, the team has five races, all of which are held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, so there is some competition. Lucy commented on these competitions and practices, saying, “...Other sports tend to have a kind of competition among the team because you do have the top players. With cycling, there is personal competition, and I think that takes away the toxicity in competing.” Grace added, “This team is quite small, and you really get to know everyone, and everyone is very friendly, supportive, and overall fun.”

If you are ever interested in switching sports, trying something new, or maybe looking for a way to escape the ruthless bugs during the late spring term, there will be room for you on the cycling team. Just ask Drew, and you’ll be on a bike in no time!

Preparing Seniors for the Future:

By Cole Gavigan

Independence, responsibility, and time management. With seniors gearing up to head off to college, one of the last things Proctor tries to do is prepare seniors for the real world. In their final term at PA seniors no longer have to check in at 7:30 and crank out homework for 2 hours; they have the luxury to do what they want with their time. This is to try to simulate the freedom seniors will experience next year in college, this system is Senior Study Hall.

Drew Donaldson, Dean of Students, summarized the purpose of Senior Study Hall in an email to the senior class, “The rationale for Senior Study Hall is to award seniors some additional independence in your last term at Proctor and in doing so create an opportunity for you to manage your time wisely before graduation.” Seniors must follow certain rules or will lose the privilege if they cannot demonstrate that they can handle themselves with this new found freedom.

Curious about how much my classmates are using this privilege, I sent a survey to the seniors asking about how much everyone uses Senior Study Hall, what they do during their time, and how they think the system could be improved:

The results suggest that students are being responsible and productive with their time. Currently, during Senior Study Hall, you can access four of Proctor’s buildings as well as Jakes’s. The buildings are Maxwell (for the Wise), the Field House, Slocumb, and the Coffee House. During Senior Study Hall, some favorite activities of the current senior class are shooting hoops, playing pool, creating art, and hanging out with friends. There are also some organized events, such as senior sushi (take-out), and senior basketball. While Senior Study Hall is a pretty good system, the current senior class had some suggestions on how it could be improved. Some common ideas were to start Senior Study Hall in the fall, allow travel to Pizza Chef, open up more buildings (including dorms), have more organized activities, and offer trips off campus.

Some people may be asking themselves if learning about independence is that im-