The many great performances at CHAH’s winter concert

Andy Mercado

The stage before the concert.

Have you ever wanted to perform on-stage? In front of a HUGE crowd? Maybe you just want to impress someone? Well, that’s exactly what many students did at the CHAH Winter Concert, whether by dancing, or performing songs; you had to see it.

 On January 15th, 2025, CHAH middle schoolers and high schoolers performed at the George Washington High School in front of a huge crowd of about 200 people. The first performances were by the music students, where students played in separate bands directed by Mr. Cawley. Afterwards were the dance performances, where students danced in choreography to many great songs, directed by Ms. Jacobson.    

“It was amazing. Everyone was precise, organized, and professional, very good,” said parent Chris Ostavo. 

Everyone was indeed precise; they’ve been practicing for months. Trumpets, saxophones, trombones, clarinets, everyone was in sync, it was like a genuine orchestra. And the dancers were basically dancing on autopilot. Barely any mistakes were made.

“It’s more nerve racking, but it’s also more of an open space, so when you think nobody can see you, everybody has eyes on you,” said dancer Maliyah Ledesma, when asked if her experiences practicing and performing were similar.

But although some, if not most dancers were nervous, they still managed to perform amazingly. Again, it was like they were on autopilot. They had a great instructor after all.

“Every class, I choreographed it based on the class’s interests. I base off their skill and kind of their movement qualities to try to make it movements that they’re gonna be most comfortable doing,” said dance instructor Ms. Jacobson.

A smart thing for a dance instructor to do. It helps them really connect with their students, and so the students actually want to dance and give it their all on-stage. And obviously, this is amazing for concerts such as this one.

“It was just more so repetition and getting the notes down and memorized,” said trumpet player Sanai Blue.

It sounds simple, but notes aren’t actually that easy to memorize. Imagine having to be put on the spot and suddenly forget every note you learned. It shows how much time their instructor took to make sure they memorized the performance.

“It’s better to keep trying and always try to dial up the energy and that sound in rehearsal. When you’re on stage performing, there’s always another dial you can turn up,” said music instructor Mr. Cawley.

And turn up the dial they did. Trying to dial up the energy even during rehearsal is a great way to prepare players for the actual concert. 

Everyone gave it their all, and they managed to impress a crowd of about 200 people. There were claps between pretty much every performance. Again, you just had to see it.