On April 1st we held the first spring gala in two years! An incredibly exciting event especially considering school had closed back in 2020 barely 2 weeks before the gala, so we certainly had a lot of anticipation and excitement for this one.
The pressure and nerves were definitely on considering we only started rehearsing 2 months before when usually its 3 or 4. Not to mention this year I did another solo which is certainly a daunting task. As usual we had 4 songs for voice which would be split into two sets and they were very lively and upbeat this year with incredible percussion and guitar which really made the songs come alive.
On the night of the gala I remember getting there extremely early first of all, scared to be late and then we had the vocal warm ups these are always super fun, we’re in a big group of about 30 and it just feels like such a community when we’re all there singing together even the band kids joined in.
After that Senaya and I started getting ready for our solos hers was the second event in the concert and mine was the third and there was certainly more fear with going so early in the night. Still we stayed pretty lively and I remember getting ready in the green room while dancing and singing to the band songs. When the thing actually started the anticipation grew and I basically pretended my song was not till later to stay calm. When it was time to wait backstage that’s when things get super nerve wracking but luckily I got to enjoy Senaya’s beautiful singing first and then I went onstage, it actually ended up being really fun and this was the most confidence performance I’ve ever done, it’s safe to say I’ve conquered the bigger fear of singing alone on stage and now I can enjoy it instead of just worry.
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- Backstage before our solos! Credit: Senaya
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- Nervous for our solos! Credit: Senaya
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- Dress rehearsal for my solo Credit: Stefan
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- My solo! Credit: Karen
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- Ready for voice set one! Credit: Josh
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- Set one for senior voice Credit: Karen
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- Set two of senior voice Credit: Karen
The rest of the gala went super well and ended with Ms. Duncan’s shaker drop which was fantastic. Ms. Duncan is really the reason we are able to do this and I am so grateful for all of her guidance and her confidence in all of us over the years, not to mention Mr. Marlon sorting out the details and lending his guitar skills to numerous musical numbers.