On October 28, Terra Linda’s music program performed the Pops Concert, directed by TL’s music program leader Daniel Thomson. A compilation of popular hits were played, ranging from Taylor Swift’s song “Shake It Off” to “Brickhouse” by the Commodores. The orchestra played first, followed by wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, and choir.

Valentin Tsibulya and Rohit Yelamanchili, seniors at Terra Linda, participated in both the wind ensemble and the jazz ensemble. According to Tsibulya and Yelamanchili, preparation was one to two months long with Tsibulya saying that they had “one month of learning how to [play] music.” Tsibulya said that the “songs were alright and the MCs were good,” with Yelamanchili adding that it would have been “cool to have different music other than the stadium music that is played at football games.”

When asked about how they deal with mistakes, Tsibulya said jokingly that he “never makes mistakes.” Yelamanchili simply saying that the piece must go on, which is seen in all performances. Yelamanchili also said that Thomson has the students watch film of the concert afterwards in class to see the mistakes made in order to improve upon them.

The masters of ceremonies were seniors Aspen Adams and Nathan Smith. Both have participated in the music program before, and are familiar with Thomson and many of the students. Adams and Smith were informed the Monday of that week, and managed to write the jokes incorporated in the script by that Wednesday night. For Smith and Adams, this was their first time being MCs, but it was, according to Smith, “definitely fun,” and something both would want to do again. Smith felt that some jokes went really well, yet some other jokes were not understood entirely by the audience, as they were either inside jokes or too musical. Adams gives the example of a joke commonly used in music that was said that night, which asks, “what is Beethoven’s favorite fruit?” “Ba-na-na-naaa.” Adams adds that for some jokes, they could only “hear the wind ensembles in the background laughing.” Overall as an MC, Adams enjoyed her experience, and that people would come up to her after the concert to say “that [her part in the concert] was cool.”   

Concerts are a way to showcase the talents of TL’s musically inclined students. Tsibulya said that concerts are a way to “show off and have fun.” Adams, who also participates in orchestra and the jazz ensemble says that “it’s great to produce music and see the audience react” and see how it has “impacted the audience.”