Somerset Canyons final concert review. May 8th was the final concert of the year for the Somerset Canyons bands and choruses. It would be an understatement to say that things did not go as planned.
The plan
We do three concerts each year, one in December, one in March and a final performance in May. May 8th was set as our final performance of the 24/25 school year.
May concerts are fun shows. I pick music from movies, shows or anything that I think the audience will like. I also give awards to top-notch students.
We celebrate!
We set the gym up and had everything ready to go by 3:30. Band chairs, audience chairs, percussion instruments, chorus microphones and speakers. Everything was going as planned.
I left campus to get a snack and some quiet time.
Surprise!
I came back to the campus around 4:30 and the first thing I noticed was that the traffic light wasn’t working.
When I turned into the campus I saw our security people and principal pointing at the corner of the campus. They seemed agitated, and I thought I saw smoke!
When I pulled around the building, I realized that the power was out.
Great!
I went to the band room and sat in the dark. Florida Power and Light (FPL) is a great company. I wasn’t too concerned. They’d have the power restored quickly.
Bad news
A teacher came to the music room and asked what I was going to do. “Are you going to cancel the concert?”
My first thought was, “It’s only been a few minutes!”
I told her that I didn’t even know what was going on. But, I knew that I needed to get more information so I walked to the front of the school. The principal, Mr. G, was there and he would be the one to talk to.
Several minutes later Mr. G told me that FPL believed it would be at least 2 hours before power was restored. In other words, it wouldn’t be on until after the concert is over.
Mr. G and I spoke about options. He suggested that we move to the football field. I wasn’t sure that I liked the idea. The ‘feels like’ temperature was around 90 and the audience would be staring into the sunset.
Kind of brutal.
Mr. G is a great guy. He said it was up to me. I didn’t consider rescheduling the event. It’s difficult to get everyone to come to a concert that is planned months in advance. And, the month of May is extremely busy at any school.
I walked over to the football field so that I could think. I looked around and decided to move the concert to the football field.
Reset
When a plan goes sideways you find out who will come through for you. There were 3 teachers who quickly jumped in and started moving chairs for us. Mr. G and Assistant Principal Mr. Amendola brought cases of water over for the band members.
It took about an hour to reset, but it was all done in time for our 6 pm start time.
The show
We had to drop the jazz band’s performance because there was no power for the piano and guitars.
The choruses had to sing everything a cappella. But, we frequently sing the songs that way when we rehearse.
We started the concert with an impromptu performance of “Go Big Blue”. I figured that we might as well since we were on a football field.
Wrap up
These types of events can’t be planned for and no one wants them to happen. But, they draw everyone together. I’m sure that more than one person will talk about the concert that they had to do outside. It’ll make a great story.
It’s times like these that I’m the most proud of the kids. They show their resilience…
They show their toughness…
I love these kids.
Click here for more info on the May 8 program.