On Friday January 20, BSGE’s cafegymatorium was packed with excited parents, teachers, and students, all looking forward to the annual winter concert. The 7th grade, some of the 9th grade, the school orchestra, and several soloists performed specially chosen pieces, including one written by the 9th grade class themselves. These soloists included Lynca Saito ‘21, who played Chopin Nocturne, Erica Lei ‘20 performing River Flows in You, and Ethan Yung ‘19, with the piece La Campanella.
To start off the concert, Peter Wilson and some of the Helping Hands committee gave a short speech about the various charities they supported. The BSGE annual concerts have raised over $12,000 in past years. This was followed by the orchestra, Players for Peace, playing the national anthem, with Janielle Dumapit ‘19 singing a solo, followed by Fiesta Mexicali and Holiday Fantasy. The concert received warm feedback from both parents and students. Abhay Bist ‘20 thought “all the rehearsals paid off and I was glad to see that no one messed up,” while a parent of a student was so pleased with the performance that she donated a keyboard and other musical tools. Daniel Sahr ‘20 especially enjoyed working on the world premiere piece and said that he is “considering taking IB Music for piano because [he] enjoyed helping conduct the class,” and he “would appreciate an experience like this again.”
After the national anthem, the 7-1 class played March 2 by Wally Barnett and Climb Every Mountain by Rogers and Hammerstein, with Fiona Shea ’22 and David Eyal ’22 playing the glockenspiel and Lynca Saito ’22 on the piano. The 7-3 class was next, performing Blue Waltz and George M. Cohen, both by Wally Barnett. Last was the 9-2 class who played The Fairy Tale, written by themselves and transcribed by Daniel Sahr ‘20, and The William Tell Overture by Gioachino Rossini with Owen Smith ’20 as guitarist and piano soloists Erica Lei ’20, Alex Lee ’20 and Rachel Zhang ’20.
Ms. Nikkolos, the music teacher and conductor, was overjoyed with the outcome of the concert, saying it exceeded her expectations even though some seniors who were on the senior trip could not be there despite being in the orchestra. She has a personal message for all the students who performed and all the teachers and family members that attended: “I am especially proud of the 9th grade world premiere, the orchestra and the soloists. Thank you BSGE PTA and thank you for making my life a joy!”
The BACC Rag 