During the busiest part of DP1 we had the Spring Gala Concert which, like the Winter Gala Concert, is an annual celebration of music at OSC. This concert I did not participate in many pieces because not many people signed up for performances, and so I was not required to play accompaniment for anything. However, the concert band performed two pieces, Soul Bossa Nova and The Blues Brothers. Since the band performance is at the beginning of the concert, I volunteered to do backstage crew as well, to help out between other performances. I did not expect this to be so much work, especially the dress rehearsal – more than one full school day was missed.

The preparation for the concert consists, for the band, of normal rehearsals, although additional pieces are practiced during lunchtimes. Finally, there are two days of dress rehearsals before the concert to run through all the performances and to get the timing right and the backstage group prepared. I missed nearly two whole days of school due to the dress rehearsal, so I some work to catch up, but the concert was fun and successful in the end, so it was worth it. Although the concert band only had to be there for one morning, the backstage crew was required to be there the whole day to be prepared for the concert.

Playing The Blues Brothers. Photo credits: GeckoNet.

The concert band. Photo credits: GeckoNet.

Both songs went well, and I was particularly happy about The Blues Brothers which was already good at the dress rehearsal. The song has some high notes and complicated rhythms, but the whole band stayed in time, which was a big improvement from the rehearsals.

Directly after our band performance I went back on stage as part of the backstage crew to help put away the chairs and stands and set up for the next performance. During the performance I quickly changed into my black backstage crew shirt and joined the others behind the stage. We had a booklet of the stage set-ups with us and organized ourselves between performances so that everything went well when we had to set up for the next performances. This was quite a challenge since group performances such as choirs needed lots of mics, and they all had to be placed in the spots we marked during dress rehearsals as quickly as possible, without getting disorganized and confused.

Moving the piano between rehearsals. Photo credits: GeckoNet.

The backstage crew being called on stage at the end of the concert. Photo credits: GeckoNet.

This was my third concert band performance at OSC, although I participated in several separate performances such as graduation and National Day. Overall, I enjoy the performances as the songs are mostly fun and I am looking forward to future concerts. It was however the first time I did stage management which, although it was quite enjoyable, I don’t think I will do again in grade 12 as being out of two days of school is a bit too much I think. What was good about stage management is that it was something more technical than I usually do, because of all the wires and having to always check which mics are on or off, and it challenged me in regards to working in a team quickly but staying organized, which was a good experience.

The link to the entire concert can be found here.