Skip to main content

Together We are One

Grace Lim

The band often gives us a unifying experience, despite how different we are. Keito Watanabe (12), Emmett Balzer (12), and Kimberly Horton (12), along with Mr. Kearney, had a week they can never forget as talented musicians. These three seniors were selected to represent our school for the ACSC honor band which was held at Hong Kong International Christian School. As three of the best players in the high school band, they were extremely proud to have the chance to represent the school. Nevertheless, representing the school wasn’t easy; they had to spend countless hours practicing even before they went to Hong Kong.

Although they practiced for a long time beforehand, they had to practice even more once they got to Hong Kong. In fact, they practiced about 8 hours on both Thursday and Friday for their concert on Saturday, March 4th, at 4:30p.

 As the most talented musician in the ACSC honor band, Watanabe was able to seize the solo position.  Keito said, “Having gotten a solo for our opening song, ‘Don Ricardo,’ I couldn't help but feel pressured. What if I played a wrong note? What if I rushed the piece? All of these thoughts whirled through my head as the conductor's eyes, glaring like a hawk, penetrated the pitiful courage that I had into nothingness. Despite this, however, I was able to successfully play the solo without any mistakes. Both the conductor and I were satisfied with the performance that I showed during the concert.”

Apart from their long practices and amazing performance, these seniors were able to befriend students from the other schools. Balzer said, “I liked how we had to arrange ourselves in small groups of three students. We were forced to socialize with other schools and made many lasting friends in such a short time.”  

Thanks to developed technology, those of us at home were still able to enjoy the resonant sound of the band through the live stream. Kylie Toh (12) said, “That was incredible to be able to watch and support my classmates even though we were so far away. I felt like I was there with them. I was extremely impressed by the effort they have put into the music. I loved the music, especially the solo done by Keito.”

Watanabe 
Horton                                Balzer


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DINGBAT DALAT STUDENT SPENDS PRECIOUS TIME CONJURING UP SELF-REFERENTIAL SENIOR SCRIBBLE RATHER THAN GATHERING LEGITIMATE WORK

Yusoof Monawvil PENANG, MA - As the deadline drew near and the stars aligned in the night sky above the majestic waters of the Strait of Malacca, one particular Dalat student—Yusoof Monawvil (12), despite a plethora of school events to select and report on—opted instead to spend a remarkably well-wasted 24 minutes staring at a blank Google Docs page, fruitlessly drawing up and shooting down brainstormed ideas.  In a moment of sheer and undeniable epiphany, Monawvil deemed it only fitting to self-referentially satirize his own ingrained incompetence and dingbattery. Commenting on the flash of insight, Monawvil quoted himself, saying: “It all just kinda made sense. I went on DISCourse to look at the little rubric thing Ms. Grad and Mr. Hieber posted, and I checked if I was following all of the guidelines... And I technically am/was; [N]ot like there’s any specific direktive [sic] prohibiting self-quoting.”  In a turn of events, Monawvil did come to find his self-quoting en...

“I Miss Her” by Nikhil Pillay

While most people had a fun week for mid-semester break, whether it was spent with family, or with friends on impact trips, no one had a more emotionally confusing week than Judson Kenneth Robert Nosker (12).  In the light of recent events, Judson, despite all odds, had gotten in a relationship with one of his classmates, and as the break started, he had started to spend a lot of time with her. While with her, he started to experience a new level of joy and completeness that he had never felt before. In the words of Judson Nosker, “The first half of the break was good, but the rest of it was horrible.”  The reason for such a quote and the roller coaster of emotion was because half way through the break, disaster had struck. Judson’s girlfriend had gone on a trip with her family to Thailand, leaving Judson all alone. For the rest of the week, Judson was in a state of longing for her presence.  His friends have reported numerous occasions when Judson would be sitting with t...

Varsity Sports Award Ceremony

By Amos Koay On April 22, the Varsity Sports Awards was held in Harbor Hall. This was when people who had joined a Varsity sport would get acknowledgment for all the blood, sweat, and tears they sacrificed to fight for Dalat.  Many amazing athletes got the recognition they deserved. Some notable people are Romeo Kontsas (11), Isaac Lee (12), Naomi Weidemann (12), Josia DeJager (12), Joshua Morrison (12), DJ Yost (12), Caitlin Chan (11), and Alexia Nyul (12), who all got awarded MVP in their respective sports.   Although many people got different awards, one athlete stood above the rest of the players. One exceptional athlete who was in soccer, basketball, and track, where he broke multiple ACSC and school records for his sprints—the Male Athlete of the Year, Kyle Tang.  The following quote is what Kyle Tang (12) had to say about his achievements: "Winning athlete of the year is an incredible honor, especially with the amount of sacrifices I've spent improving myself ...