From the amazing experience, I had from my first stage experience in the Winter Gala, I knew I would come back and try to perform in the Spring Gala. Through the guidance of Mrs. Duncan and Mr. Marlon, they insisted for me to join in once more and so I did. I decided to do 2 songs, one for the Boys Voice and another as accompaniment for a solo performance by Akhil. The song that the Boys Voice would be singing is by the Beatles, ‘I Saw Her Standing There’ and Akhil would be singing ‘Don’t Stop Believing by Oasis’. I’m also part of the Guitar Ensemble where we decided to perform one jazz piece called ‘Take 5’ by The Dave Brubeck Quartet and a Spanish song by the Gipsy Kings called ‘Volare’.
In the preparation of ‘I Saw You Standing There’, we had practiced on Thursdays during lunch time. We had a drummer, bassist, electrical guitarist (author), pianist as well as the vocalists. This song would be one of the 2 songs Boys Voice would sing in the Spring Gala. For ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ Mrs. Duncan, Mr. Marlon, and Case (Bassist) would just have one practice session together before the performance. We were all set for the night, the practice had gone smooth and we were confident however, I still had a bit of nerve.
Our Guitar Ensemble practice was set during Wednesdays after school for one hour. We had first gone through bit by bit each session on ‘Take 5’, we then moved on to ‘Volare’. For these pieces, I was set as rhythm guitar working closely with the bass (Rashmi). I had a solo section while Rashmi played the bass notes and I did the same for her solo alternatively. For Volare, I was also rhythm guitar as well meaning I needed to keep the pace of the song. For ‘Volare’, my main job was just strumming which I sometimes prefer than to plucking as we did in ‘Take 5’.
During the night of the performance, probably the most annoying part of the night was the number of times I needed to change due to my responsibilities also to Stage Management including Boys Voice, Akhil’s solo performance, and Guitar Ensemble. It would be a busy night for me however, I enjoyed it nevertheless. My first performance was with the Guitar Ensemble. We were the 4th performance of the night. I had to quickly change from Stage Management whilst in a bit of a rush but still managed to help out the Stage Management team and be on time. As we made way on stage there were a few technical problems that made our entrance a bit slow since this year we wanted to try using new microphones that were physically attached to the guitar. Acoustic guitars are very delicate and if banged into something it definitely makes a loud noise since it’s hollow inside. Our first song was ‘Take 5’ it went well however, I was a bit disappointed at myself with a few mistakes, but besides that, it was a well-presented piece. ‘Volare’ started off well, everyone doing their part either melody, bass, or rhythm. Only till the end where there was slight confusion, however, we still ended the piece and the crowd seemed to enjoy us.
Boys Voice was next with ‘I Saw You Standing There’ being their first song being sung. As upbeat as the song is normally, the vocalist truly was in the groove and enjoyed singing it to the crowd. I really enjoyed the part I played in the song and during the whole performance. Everything was smooth and I played with a true smile on my face. Akhil’s performance compared to the song with the Boys Voice was 10 times more nerve-racking. Due to the role, I had as a solo section, and that I needed to wait for my exact moment because I was not playing for the whole song besides the solo made me a lot more stressed. In the end, I did it and my mentor (Mr. Marlon) was so proud he even congratulated me right after the solo whilst still playing! It was a great moment and I seriously enjoyed it. Overall, another successful Gala and I’m so thankful for all the extra work the Stage Mangement crew had to do in my absence. Till next Spring Gala!
