On April 2, Carlmont music group Scots’ Symphony performed a medley of “Phantom of the Opera” — with a twist.
The group, consisting of various Carlmont instrumentalists and vocalists, played through their set during lunch in the quad. Jenna Williamson, a senior and vice president of the club, conducted the symphony throughout the piece.
“I think it went pretty well. It was weird switching from being in the band room to being outside,” Williamson said. “It was strange, but we did a really good job of coming together.”
The performance went as planned with musicians drawing out the tunes of “Phantom of the Opera” scores for the majority of the performance. Prominently known pieces such as “The Overture,” “Think of Me,” and “Angel of Music” combined to form a complex yet familiar musical number.
At the very end, however, the tune switched to the energetic melody of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” before transitioning smoothly into the “Phantom of the Opera” scores once again.
While brief, this element of fun placed into the musical arrangement was an indicator of the lively, positive environment under Club President Alyssa Higdon, a junior.
Alyssa Fong, a senior who watched the performance, said, “I really enjoyed the performance. I thought that what [Higdon] did was amazing and unique.”
Higdon arranges the majority of the sheet music and scores for the Scots’ Symphony — including violins, violas, flutes, trumpets, and more. This time, sophomore Jonathan Shi helped integrate the bit of “Never Gonna Give You Up” into the performance.
“I think it’s awesome that we have people as motivated as [Higdon] at this school to get this performance together, because this is the type of leadership Carlmont really needs,” Fong said.
Last year, the club performed “Another Day of Sun” from the LaLaLand soundtrack in the quad. While plans to play a “meme song medley” were canceled last semester, Higdon was excited to announce that the club has bounced back stronger this time around.
“Last time, people were more unprepared because they didn’t come to rehearsals as much. The music was too complicated with different themes,” Higdon said. “With this one, the music is all similar and under the umbrella of ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ People were able to pick it up more easily.”
Moving forward, Scots’ Symphony will hold their next performance in the 2018-2019 academic year. Under Higdon, the club will likely be performing many more medleys for students to enjoy.
