By Risa Askerooth
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Over 500 students and family gathered at the MHS gym on Oct. 2 to celebrate the annual Fall Pops concert, the first concert of the year that consists of popular pieces played by the MHS orchestra, band and chorus. Fall Pops is designed to set high standards for the following quarters and showcase the progress students have made since the beginning of the year.
“Creating a musical gift is in itself a very high level of human act, I think. To create that kind of performance, to just be part of that is individually important,” said Choral Director Keane Ishii, “To prepare something that’s worthwhile, be it a musical performance of a speech or dance, all these things, I think the more you do it, the better you get at it.”
The evening kicked off at 6:30 p.m. with the Concert Orchestra performing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and featured compositions such as “Over the Rainbow” and “Don’t Stop Believin.’” A massed ensemble piece of “My America” concluded Fall Pops, requiring all the ensembles to work together and be disciplined in order to create a combined sound. “You need to make sure you have very good posture, sit up straight. And you have to make sure that your full concentration is on the music and keeping an eye on the conductor for the tempo changes and when he cues you,” stated String Ensemble member Sophomore Bella Lynch.
Fall Pops is the only concert of the year that students are required to attend for the entire performance, in order to ensure that they fully appreciate the concert. “We have (the students) sit and listen to each of the groups. And hopefully they gain a sense of respect for each other and for the other performing ensembles and the work that everyone puts into it,” said Band Director Derek Kaapana.
The preparation for the concert varied for each ensemble, with some starting right at the very beginning and others halfway through the quarter. Once the music was assigned to the students, each of the ensembles attended practices after school so that their instruments or voices would be fully prepped. “What I love most about this event is for one thing, not all schools have a first quarter concert. For a lot of schools they find it’s too soon after the beginning of the year to really like showcase the work of the performers in a good way but I like it because I think any ensemble has to get used to performing,” said Ishii.
With Fall Pops the light-hearted kick-off to the rest of the year, the next concerts will allow room for even further improvement, starting with the winter concert in December.
