When many of us heard that music teacher Jacqueline Gorski left, the first thought was probably, ‘What’s going to happen to Daniel Pearl World Music Day?’ The program is the biggest event the school puts on every year.

Unlike previous shows, this year’s DPWMD was ultimately student driven with the help from new music teachers Wes Hambright and Al Daniels. With such short notice, Hambright and Daniels were still able to smoothly form a choir and supervise this joyous event.

A talent show was added to the event, which is another distinction to past DPWMD events which focused on performances from the choir. Students wanting to participate had to try out and make the cut.

This year’s event included various acts including senior Cedric Eusantos’ yo-yo tricks and musical performances from freshman Zachary Gephart-Canada, junior Janay Lewis, junior Ana Monterroza, The Sardines and a smaller than usual school choir. Having only a few weeks to practice, the performers had to take any time they had into account and rehearse.

In addition to the musical acts, new dance teacher M. Orejarena’s dance class performed  “Mambo No. 5” by Lou Bega and “Limbo” by Daddy Yankee. The diversity of this event had never been extended to a dance routine, which has made this year’s DPWMD different from the past.

DPWMD continued old traditions like the international greeters and added new ones like dance performances. This year’s event couldn’t have been done without the dedication of the students and new music and dance teachers.

The event exceeded everyone’s expectations, leaving Dr. Judea and Ruth Pearl proud of the students and staff.