Close to a hundred people crowded the space inside the German Club Manila in Makati on the evening of February 23. Everyone was anxious to see two very young music clubs from GESM perform: The Glee Club and the Rock Band.
Formed just in the beginning of the school year, the two clubs mounted this concert -- dubbed the "Red & Black Soirée" -- to raise funds for the school's music department to use in the purchase and maintenance of instruments and other equipment.
With pop and rock hits from the 80s to the very present, the student concert did not disappoint. Parents and others in attendance sang and danced along every number, and were so worked up by the music that they took to the "stage" themselves in the end.
"We were surprised by the [engagement] from the parents," said Lara Bohn (Gr. 11) and Natalie Conception (Gr. 11), the Glee Club's volunteer vocal coaches who headed the organization of the concert. "The Glee Club [and Rock Band are] very new, and yet we received overwhelming support."
With the ticket sales from the concert, Natalie and Lara just secured tens of thousands of pesos to improve and enhance their own and fellow students' learning in music.
"We [also] learned a lot about organizing and management," they added.
When asked if another music event is planned before the end of the school year, the student organizers couldn't really tell. But with their recent success and word of the concert spreading, the GESM community could assume that a repeat performance is at least a little more likely than their hopeful "maybe."
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The Red & Black Soirée was an event organized by students as part of their CAS (Creativity, Service, Activity) requirement for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP). Click here to learn more.