Hello,
My name is Nevaeh Dutta, a second year student at CCPA. As someone who has performed in the Concert of Remembrance twice overall, it reminds me every year of how powerful that performance can be. It makes me think about how many people in the audience are feeling in the current moment. As well as having me think about how my family might react when seeing a very impactful show such as this one. I loved how everyone was being very supportive of each other, and how if a mistake is made it is easy to forgive each other. What I loved about doing performances such as this one is that it helps bring people together, and it allows us to let ourselves be vulnerable to each other as well. During part of the show there would be a time when I got very emotional when some speakers would go up to the microphones and talk about past soldiers who fought in the war. It made me think about my grandpa since he was part of the British Navy in the past and those speeches made me emotional thinking about him. Reminding me that I’ll always miss him every day.
This year we did our version of “Fix You” by Coldplay. My favorite part about that song was having the chance to sing a very impactful song. I found that it was able to open many eyes to the audience. I found it became more impactful to the audience when we walked out into the audience to showcase our own voices in the show. I loved being able to sing “Fix You” and I feel it was a great addition to the song list.
For the last three years, R.J. Peters has written the script for the Concert of Remembrance. He came back at it again with an amazing script. What I love about R.J.’s script writing is that he always knows ways to tie the songs we were singing together with an amazing impactful story. R.J. is also a very kind and talented person that deserves an academic award for all of his hard work. He helps us ensemble members feel seen and it gives us the chance to experience the stage in a different light. He believes in us, and I will forever believe in him. Noreen Smith and Kathy Alexander, the teachers for the Concert of Remembrance unit, also did a great job to help us learn the songs. Nancy Curry is the accompanist, and they all worked so hard teaching us the songs for the unit and helping us improve our technique. Kathy and Noreen also encouraged me to belt my line for my solo, even when I was concerned on getting my notes right they still believed in me that I was able to do it. And yes, thankfully my notes were correct.
I loved doing the Concert of Remembrance this year, it helped bring me closer to my peers. It was such a beautiful and powerful performance that I will never forget.
