Students of the DHS Music program gathered in the school theatre on April 24 to perform pieces to show audiences how they can play after their progress throughout the year.
All of the performances focused on percussion and chamber music by having performances from a variety of percussion instruments, and woodwinds.
Sophomore Kiana Morales performed in a duo called Feminine M&M & Slim Shady Lady and she played on the mallets.
“My friend and I decided to play because it was something fun to do,” Morales said. “Our song choice was intended to liven up the evening because we like to make this type of music interesting.”
Morales and her partner, Jessica Lizardo, 11, performed the piece entitled Mineut #4, which was originally composed by J.S. Bach. Though the entire composition wasn’t played, the duo act played a snippet that grabbed the attention of audience members by being rather fast-paced in its execution.
Sophomores Aron Ramirez and Hector Osorio played Petite Due en Fa on their bassoons in a duo called Aron and the Sixth Grader.
“The comedy in our performance was mainly intended to show that there is more to chamber music than slow, sleep-inducing music,” Ramirez said. “We wanted to really give them [the audience] a show.”
Before performing their piece, the two students got laughs simply for their attire. Ramirez was suited in a dress shirt and slacks, while Osorio—intended to be the sixth grader—was dressed in a middle school t-shirt, baseball cap, and jeans. This led into them doing a comedic act that implied that one of the two forgot the sheet music that was needed to perform the song. Their hasty bickering led to them showing their bassoon-playing talents in their performance. The night was full of instrumentals—both fast and slow paced.
Ryan Tovez, 11, played in his group who called themselves The Artists formerly known as Sophoamores, but he also played the snare drums in the DHS Winter Percussion group that closed the show.
“My group really enjoyed it,” Tovez said. “Mainly because we practice together every day and performing with the ones I’m closest was great. It was a lot of fun.”
The final group played their production standing still, In Time that started off slow and progressed to a fast-paced composition. Their intent was to give their audience a little bit of what percussion-based music is all about from all perspectives. The group’s meshing together made for an interesting performance that had it’s subtle bumps, but was still successfully done in the end.
Vikes in the DHS percussion group all had the opportunity to participate in the showcase, and those who did showed the audience just why they were in a well-recognized music program—for their talent.
