On May 27th we welcomed the Dalian American International School community to join us for the culminating instrumental concert of the school year. Throughout the year, we all had a unique opportunity to attend different music events like “Open Mic Night”, “The Great Silk Road” and enjoy national anthems of 19 different nations during International Day.
All these musical wonders would not have been possible without our student-musicians who gifted the audiences with magnificent musical performances. On this day we got to enjoy our wonderful graduates for one last time on the stage of our beloved school.
In music the number 8 means an “octave” – it is 8 notes from C to next C. You might think 8 notes is not that many, but in music the absence of an octave means the loss of the entire range. This is why we had mixed feelings on the day of concert. We felt proud for our graduates and wanted to wish them the best of luck as they embark on their next adventure. At the same time, we will always feel the loss of the whole octave – the element that added harmony, esthetics, and energy.
Throughout this evening, we were able to hear the story of each musician in our Golden Octave: Amy (flute and cello), Boris (trombone), Danny (bass guitar, electric guitar, and clarinet), Peter (a talented musician, composer and conductor already accepted to Berkeley), Rebecca (alto sax), Daisy (flute and violin), Maguire (bass guitar), and Paulo (trombone). Each of these musicians is unique and made significant accomplishments in music.
High School and Middle School bands as well as the Big Band performed different music pieces on the stage throughout the evening. HS Band opened the concert by performing “To the Heroes of the Patriotic War”, a march by Aram Khachaturian. This musical piece is dedicated to all heroes who overcome challenges. Very soon, our graduates will have to be brave in the face of the adult life.
The concert continued with “Hungarian Dances”, a famous composition by Johannes Brahms. The main motive of the Hungarian music is an expression of freedom and taking oneself outside of the box. We bet our 12th graders cannot wait to be free and independent. “Violet’s Tango” performed by the MS band was yet another reminder to our graduates that the world is made up of contradictions and contrasts.
Our students also performed “Allegretto” by Ludvig van Beethoven, “Radetszky March” by Johann Strauss, “Cumberland Cross”, “Street Tango” by Ms. Olga’s favorite composer Astor Piazzolla, “El Choclo”, “Blues Machine”, and other pieces which reflected the personalities of our graduates.
We would like to say huge thank you to all those who made this evening possible, and especially to Ms. Olga.
