Performing – Finally!

For the last two years, Ms. Duncan and all the musically talented students at OSC have been trying to arrange a concert or performance of sorts. I myself have auditioned and been selected to be a part of three separate concerts, all of which were cancelled as the country moved in and out of lockdowns. Then, when we came back to school in August 2021, for my senior year, I was determined to perform at least once before I graduated. This emotion was reflected in Ms. Duncan, who worked really hard to pull together the concert over a few weeks. After all the tech rehearsals and dress rehearsals and sound checks, finally, Friday the 3rd of December came around.

To celebrate the opening of the new coffee shop, 9 other students and I were chosen to perform at the venue, turning the occasion into a sort of semi-formal concert. I decided to sing the Italian opera piece, Caro Mio Ben. This is one of my favourite arias, and it’s one that I am most familiar with.  I learned opera singing while I was living in Manila, The Philippines. When I joined singing lessons with a wonderful teacher, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was an ex-opera singer! She was very pleased with my voice when she heard me sing, and felt that it was strong enough to be able to sing opera. So, we decided to explore a few different pieces. Caro Mio Ben is the first one I learned, and I loved it so much, not only because it’s a beautiful piece, but also because it revealed to me a new skill that I had. Ever since then, I’ve been using it as an audition piece, a performance piece and more. I even sang three arias (one of which was Caro Mio Ben) at a friend’s wedding!

So, this song means a lot to me, and I was really happy to finally have the opportunity to perform it at school, for my classmates and teachers. As the audience grew larger and larger, I felt slightly nervous. Though of course, as expected, the second I stood up and started singing, the nerves vanished, and all that was left was the music and my voice. Multiple people offered to record me, so a video of my performance can be seen at the bottom of the post :). It was a fantastic experience overall, and I really enjoyed singing and listening to the other performers. There are some exceptionally talented students here at OSC! I really hope to be a part of another musical event soon. Hopefully school stays open, and we can go ahead with a Spring Gala next year! It would really be the best way to end my time at OSC.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.