On the evening of Nov. 12, the Tri-M club hosted a benefit concert in the music building, featuring solo performances and chamber groups — with many students using the opportunity to perform their competition pieces.
Other than their annual benefit concerts, Tri-M also hosts gigs and provides a number of other student performance opportunities at senior centers and an end-of-year chamber music festival. All funds donated online or in-person are given to various charities. Their most recent concert raised $300 in donations to the California Association of Food Banks. Proceeds will provide food on the table for impoverished young children and adults who suffer from starvation in California.
Contrary to previous years, when the event was hosted in the McAfee Center, last week’s concert was hosted in M101; senior co-president Liam Lenh aimed to give students more buffer space to study for tests, as hosting in McAfee entails more logistical work for the organizers and performers.
The event had strong signups with 25 students performing, lasting through the evening for about two hours.
Many performers had already been involved in the club in some capacity — the event was a chance to gain performance experience while preparing for more formal events like the upcoming concerto competition on Dec. 5 and winter concerts on Dec. 9 and 11.
Violinist and junior Thomas Lung, who performed “Symphonie Espagnole, Op.21” by Édouard Lalo, viewed the concert as an opportunity to display his piece’s beauty — he will be showcasing it again at the concerto competition.
“My motivation for performing is so I could tell myself that all the time I spent practicing the piece wasn’t for nothing. Also, it’s a nice way to finish a piece after you’ve learned it — like a conclusion rather than stopping abruptly,” Lung said.
Concerts like these also allow students who aren’t part of the music program to display their talent and hard work.
Senior violinist Omeed Kasnavi, who couldn’t participate in orchestra this year due to scheduling conflicts, showcased his violin skills through his performance of John Sibelius’s “Violin Concerto in D Minor.”
A wide variety of repertoire was performed throughout the night, ranging from classical composers like John Sebastian Bach and Sergei Rachmaninoff to contemporary artists like Yung Kai and Queen.
The event was entirely organized by Tri-M officers — led by Lenh and senior co-president Katherine Zeng. From arranging report times, designing flyers and organizing stage changes, officers each played a variety of roles; a variety of meetings were held prior to the concert when planning.
Alongside running the concert, the majority of the officers were also performers themselves.
“As a performer, I would usually only think about myself and my nervousness for the upcoming performance. But as an officer, I also carried the responsibility of making sure everything would go smoothly,” junior club secretary Alicia Huang said. “It broadened my perspective to see beyond just my worries and my performance. I enjoyed that a lot more.”
Aside from advertising only through social media, Huang hopes to make greater advertising efforts going forward, such as distributing flyers beyond the music building and announcing the concert over the school intercom.
Similarly, Lenh is looking to increase exposure for the club beyond their major concerts — hoping to garner larger participation for more diverse gig opportunities.
One main takeaway Huang noted as a new officer in Tri-M was the experience she learned from those around her. Zeng and Lenh guided and taught her leadership skills, aside from just an academic accolade.
“I’ve learned a lot about how Liam and Katherine do things — not just for Tri-M leadership, but for leadership in general,” Huang said.
