On Feb. 25, the Music from the Heart concert returned in person after its two-year-long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Music from the Heart is a show hosted by the Aragon Music Department, showcasing not just the musical ability of students, but also their various talents. String quartets, musical duets and solo performances were just some of the acts. The Tri-M Honor Society, a group of high-achieving music students, sold bread baskets and cookies.
John Chen, Director of Orchestras and Choirs, spearheaded the effort to make Music from the Heart an in-person event this year.
“Music from the Heart has been a long-standing tradition of Aragon High School,” Chen said. “It began as a huge cabaret show to serve as fundraising for one of the largest tours that Aragon music has ever embarked on, which was performing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics ceremony. It’s a showcase of many different talents from within the music department from across all genres.”
Kevin Gallagher, Director of Bands, helped Chen by judging many of the student auditions.
“[Music from the Heart is] more of an auditioned student-run talent show performance,” Gallagher said. “These are all performers who have rehearsed themselves, put together their own music outside of our school classes with their own ensembles and wanted to showcase some of their own music.”
“These are all performers who … wanted to showcase some of their own music”
From small bands playing funk and bossa nova to full choirs singing musical numbers and performing small dances, there were 20 total performances with nearly 50 singers, musicians and performers, many of whom aren’t a part of the Aragon Music program.
“[The audition] was pretty good [and] it was a positive environment,” said sophomore Leo Levitt. “We just gave a short snippet of our song and it went well. It was fun to see everyone there auditioning.”
The Tri-M Honor Society took on more responsibilities for running the concert itself, especially due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a showcase of many different talents”
“Tri-M came up with the idea of having a virtual Music from the Heart [last year] and having people submit videos,” Chen said. “It evolved into a Tri-M service event, which is very nice because the leaders have so many wonderful ideas on how to run the show.”
Tri-M members at this concert were not just fundraising, but also having students set up, clean up and advertise for the concert. Junior and Tri-M Concert Manager Carissa Yang oversaw this process.
“It’s my job to organize and decide on a lot of things for the concert,” Yang said. “[This includes] the decorations and the setup. I also help with the audio system.”
While this year’s concert was different from previous years, as COVID-19 safety restrictions prevented the serving of food and drinks, the concert’s purpose remained the same: to enjoy student performances and to fundraise for Tri-M regalia for graduating seniors.
