Community in harmony: Celebrate the Music 2024
The festival itself has really migrated from being primarily a fundraiser to being what SchoolForce refers to as a friend-raiser.
— Alan Sarver
The 20th annual Celebrate the Music Festival brought the Belmont community together through music, food, and activities.
The event was held on April 28 in Twin Pines Park and featured various bands and musical groups from the Belmont Redwood Shores School District (BRSSD) and Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) schools.
Initially dubbed “Save the Music,” the event was created in 2002 and has been an annual event until it took a gap in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.
After Proposition 13 was passed in 1978, property taxes were capped, causing funding for public schools to decline. Insufficient funding threatened various school organizations, especially music programs.
“The threat of the loss of important programs like music brought together a group of parents, school administrators, and teachers who got together to form SchoolForce, and from that came Save the Music,” said Joan Dentler, the Senior District Representative at the California state senate.
The event’s fundraising efforts proved fruitful, as the music programs in BRSSD began to receive sufficient fundraising. The event returned in 2022 with a new title: “Celebrate the Music.”
The festival focuses on showcasing the talents of young performers through performances all over the park. Lively shows commenced across the park’s three stages, and interactive carnival-style games and promotional business booths lined walkways.
Alan Sarver, an Alumni parent of the BRSSD, has been the Celebrate the Music Festival chair for 18 years.
“It’s an opportunity to put the schools in front of the whole community in a positive light and lets all of our musicians and performers in both the elementary schools and the middle school and at Carlmont strut their stuff in front of the whole community,” Sarver said.
The event also celebrates the local businesses that support SchoolForce and the BRSSD.
“A major partner is the business community of Belmont and Redwood Shores, and SchoolForce is always trying to partner with every local business to give them a way to donate to the well-being of the public schools and, in return, get recognition in the community,” Sarver said.
Joseph Murphy is a Co-founder of Murphy Music Camps and ran a promotional booth for the camp at the Celebrate the Music Festival.
“The idea behind the camps is to get the kids going again for their music teachers for the fall. Our camps are close to when the school year begins so that we could get choir and band kids playing again before they return to school,” Murphy said.
SchoolForce aims to build awareness around the music and schools in the community and utilizes the festival to encourage community members to donate and support the organization.
SchoolForce also hosts various events for community members to get involved throughout the year.
“They have a big community auction and other gatherings and opportunities to donate and be involved all year round,” Salver said.
Celebrate the Music is beneficial not only for raising money for musical programs but also for building connections.
“It’s a great place to meet new people and see all my friends. And I love music, and it’s cool to see everybody perform what they’ve been working on this year,” said festival attendee Sam Dechaine.
The festival hosts numerous returning booths, performers, and new ones, including the Ralston Jazz Band, which performed at the festival for the first time this year.
“There are more things unrelated to music this year, which encourages more people to donate, attend, and get involved,” Dechaine said.
The event has also experienced location, timing, and activity changes throughout the years.
“We changed it from running in the fall to running in the spring. The big advantage we found there was that by moving it to the spring, all the school performing groups can showcase how their program has matured through the whole school year,” Sarver said.
The Celebrate the Music Festival is a special event for the BRSSD community, as it brings together students, parents, and volunteers to celebrate their efforts.
“It is unique because this is a volunteer activity that celebrates our local student music,” Sarver said. “And it’s cool to put on something so different and so much of a demonstration of what our community is all about.”
By Linda Reeder
Celebrate the Music’s significance extends past the festival itself. Over the past two decades, the dedication of the festival’s volunteering members and board has been crucial to expanding and saving the music program across BRSSD and SUHSD schools.
“These programs have long been successful and key to the community. At Carlmont, we’ve seen this continuous growth in supporting the program over the time the festival has been running,” Sarver said.
Economic downturns have often led schools to turn to music programs as an easy way to cut costs; Sarver is dedicated to changing this reality.
“We’re dedicated to funding money for the school district to make sure that great performing arts facilities are included alongside new technical facilities and classrooms,” Sarver said.
Sarver, among others, has an unwavering commitment to local music programs. This initiated the founding of crucial music initiatives districtwide. Specifically, the Music Mentors tutoring program has been transformative in inspiring young musicians to pursue their music careers into high school and beyond.
“Music Mentors build students’ enthusiasm and commitment to music because they have a high school buddy showing them how much they can do in the future,” Sarver said.
In addition to supporting music initiatives in the districts, the festival’s outreach has extended beyond music alone for BRSSD and SUHSD schools.
“With all the funding raised, BRSSD can provide counselors, science teachers, music teachers, library specialists, and many other extracurricular programs,” said School Board President April Northup.
Celebrate the Music has invariably provided an opportunity for businesses and organizations around the community to display and promote their programs through interactive booths at the festival.
“It’s a time to not only celebrate the musical and performing skills but also to celebrate those business partners that are actively helping the schools and community thrive,” Sarver said.
Belmont policeman Dan Friedman found the festival to be a perfect way to promote the importance of the police department in the community.
“We get to meet people in the area and share information about what we do, so it’s a lot of fun,” Friedman said.
Friedman and other community leaders agree that Celebrate the Music is the perfect opportunity to promote their communal involvement in a unique way.
“The festival brings people out of their houses so that they can all have a good time together,” Friedman said. “We have a blast each year because all these little kids are coming up and asking all about the police department, what our job is, and how we keep people safe.”
The excitement of this festival is contagious, and its coordinators hope to facilitate its communal presence for a long time to come.
“Arts and music have to be supported equally, so by bringing together the community in this festival, it’s important to get the message out to the community so they feel invested and understand the importance of top-quality arts programs,” Sarver said.
By Daniela Cuadros
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Yitzik BrenmanFrom the festival's early years as a fundamental Belmont gathering, Yitzik Brenman has been vital to coordinating and volunteering at the festival. As a parent within the district, he witnessed firsthand the impact the music program had on the community and his own kids. “It's a great opportunity for people to come out and showcase the music programs at all levels from elementary all the way to high school,” Brenman said. Brenman initially started as a volunteer in the children’s section. His participation in this area motivated him to establish the Save The Music University (STMU), in which kids can be exposed to more educational activities such as robotics and Makerspace games. “We love people to come out of all ages, we have great food, great music, and lots of activities,” Brenman said. Brenman is a lead coordinator directing the volunteers and vendors and helping ensure that all events run smoothly. Brenman works with volunteers as well as Sarver to dedicate the week leading up to the festival to setting up booths and organizing workstations for volunteers. Although active in the behind-the-scenes preparation of the festival, Brenman particularly enjoys watching the community come together for such a special event that has been celebrated over the past two decades. “It's packed with people and musicians and that's what it feels like; the community is really here together,” Brenman said.
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Vibhav GargSeeing the impact music has had on his own kids through programs sponsored by the school district, Vibhav Garg was inspired to get involved with Celebrate the Music. “I want to give back to the community and make sure the arts and the music programs are funded so kids can get better,” Garg said. Garg spent many years coming to the festival as a parent and watching his son get inspired to pursue his music career further, but stepping into the role as a volunteer this year has furthered his passion for the program. “The festival is a great avenue to demonstrate talent and teach kids that if they want to be good performers, they need to practice and develop their art,” Garg said. Volunteer assistance is fundamental to putting the festival together as they deal with vendors, ticket sales, and help to set up booths and games that are beloved by the local community. “Anybody who can help is welcome. We have a lot of work to do because it's a one day program with a lot of music going on and a lot of stuff to move around,” Garg said. Garg encourages young musicians to participate in the festival as an opportunity to watch older kids demonstrate the talents they’ve harnessed through dedicated practice. “That's what really interests me to see how this program produces musicians for the future,” Garg said.
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Lindsay WongParents and longtime community members are not the only ones involved in Celebrate the Music’s success. As the Carlmont Key Club Secretary and a member of Carlmont’s Instrumental Music program, junior Lindsay Wong has a passion for increasing community involvement in Celebrate the Music. “Lots of Key Club members are helping at game booths and art stations. We just want to help the community have as much fun as possible today,” Wong said. Wong volunteered at the game booth stations during the festival, where attendees can pay for tickets to play an assortment of carnival games. The ticket proceeds are one of Celebrate the Music’s ways to generate income to continue funding for next year’s festival. While some of the festival’s events are monetarily based, Celebrate the Music focuses on promoting local music programs rather than gaining a profit. “I think everyone wanting to come and watch their children or friends or neighbors, they’re all learning more about the programs as well as how much work everyone puts into them,” Wong said. “All of the performances today have brought the community together as we're all having a lot of fun cheering everyone on and watching all of these beautiful performances.”
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Chloe ZhaoCarlmont sophomore Chloe Zhao is another student volunteer with an affinity for music. Zhao is a member of Carlmont Choirs and has been volunteering at Celebrate the Music for the past three years. Zhao has been a member of the choir programs at both Ralston Middle School and Carlmont and resonates deeply with Celebrate the Music's mission. "It raises funds for the music program, which is great. I think the given performances connect the community tremendously through music and inspire kids to join the programs," Zhao said. Zhao has been attending Celebrate the Music since she was little, and she enjoys seeing how music program participation has grown over the years. Even when she is not performing with Carlmont's choir, Zhao still enjoys participating in the festival. This year, she helped to run the tie-dye booth. "I like helping kids with the tie-dye because that's something I used to do as a kid, and now it's cool that I get to be on the other side of it," Zhao said. "The audience for this little station is more for kids and their parents. It's really fun because everyone participates in the games and the art."
By Daniela Cuadros and Ayana Ganjoo
