Musicians set to take the stage at spring concerts

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Emilie Morales

Freshman Sebastian Olfatmanesh and sophomore Leeron Nakash rehearse "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on April 25.

Students at Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) are preparing to take the stage for two upcoming music events. The Spring Moon Concert on April 26 and Spring Showcase on May 3 will both be held in the grove.

“It’s just a bunch of numbers together, so it’s gonna be like a melting pot,” said junior David Antonio, who is playing guitar in three songs in the upcoming Spring Moon Concert. “I guess you could say it’s like a music festival happening.”

The Spring Moon Concert, which will be from 7 to 9 p.m., will be an assortment of music pieces that were picked out by the students, all having a more solemn and slow tone since that concert will be held under the moonlight. Sentimental songs like “Something Stupid” by Frank and Nancy Sinatra and “I Will Follow You in the Dark” by Death Cab for Cutie will be showcased. The Spring Showcase, on the other hand, will have a more up-beat tone, featuring songs like “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees and “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse.

In order to prepare for these concerts, the student musicians have been practicing after school and during class. Music teacher Wes Hambright created a new system to help the students with practice.

“You will have to book ahead in order to practice in different rooms,” junior Jose Becerra said. “Every couple of times, we would switch around so everybody could get their practice in.”

Staying on top of practice can be a challenge when there are students in every room playing different pieces. For senior Frankie Witt, who is playing a cello solo, it’s a challenge to play because the song doesn’t have sheet music.

“The number one issue for me was that the piece that I’m doing with Ash Harrison and Vince Gillen has no cello written part,” Witt said. “Mr. Hambright had to create it for me.”

The Spring Moon Concert will showcase nine seniors, while the Spring Showcase will have more. These concerts will conclude some of their high school musical journey, so giving it their all and having fun is a must for the participating seniors.

“My song that I’m singing is what I’m most excited for because this is going to be my last concert,” senior Anthony Vallejos said. “I just want it to be memorable.”

The students are ready to put on an entertaining show filled with different music genres and new memories and it’s something that is highly anticipated by the music students that have put in three months of effort into making the concert a reality. 

“Hopefully you find songs that you haven’t heard before, enjoy them and add them to your Spotify playlist,” senior Jiszelle Arana said. “Everyone here is really great so I want everyone to look forward to having a good time.”

Here is a Spotify playlist with the songs that will be featured in the two concerts.