Collage Concert: A Night to Remember

Bella Cantave ’24 and Bryanna Liu ’26

The spring season has arrived, and so has the long-awaited return of one of our most well-loved traditions at Villa: our annual Collage Concert. The Collage Concert is an evening event that allows our talented artists, musicians, and dancers to showcase their talents! The evening sprung alive when our talented Villa artists presented their artwork to their families and friends. Laughter echoed throughout the whole auditorium and the bursts of color in the art pieces were fascinating. As the artists settled down, the chorusentered,andourmusicalconcertbegan.

Our high school chorus opened our concert with the glorious song of “Total Praise”. The chorus always looks forward to this event, and the members spent many weeks in preparation for this concert; the chorus members even have the opportunity to recommend pieces to sing as a group. Collage is also a way for chorus members to step out of the group and showcase theirtalentsindividually.Manyotherextremelytalented musicians followed, starting with LynetteGao’25 as she stepped up to the piano and skillfully performed the Fantasie Impromptu by Frederic Chopin, an elegant and calming piece that set up the concert for success. After herastonishingperformance,thecrowdgaveherahuge round of applause, a scene that would be enthusiasticallyreplicatedaftereachperformance. Bella Cantave ’24 followed Lynette’s performance with a stunning rendition of “Home” from the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast, and she said, “Performing in collage is one of my favorite activities to do because I love being able to using my voice to bring differentemotionsoutoftheaudience.”

After Bella’s stunning performance, Bryanna Liu ’26 blewtheaudienceawaywithherincredibletalenton the cello, performing a very technically and emotionally demanding piece -- the first movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor. She expresses, “I love being abletoperformeveryopportunityIget.EversinceIfirst heard about the collage concert in seventh grade, I’ve been enthusiastic about performing in it. Each time I played, the audience fell completely silent and gave me their undivided attention, which I greatly appreciated as aclassicalperformer.