On Sept. 17, the York Music Department hosted its fortieth annual Collage Concert. The kick-off event acts as an opportunity for students to demonstrate the skills they have learned in the first month of school. This concert also provides a strong basis for growth throughout the rest of the year.

Students, teachers, and production assistants work hard to make sure the concert is a success every year. With limited preparation time, it is a department-wide effort to make sure everyone is putting their best foot forward.

“The biggest piece is teachers working with students every day to make sure that the music is ready and the students are ready to do their performances,” Patrick Baker, Division Chair for Visual and Performing Arts, said. “We want to make sure our students are featured, so teachers do all their work planning and preparing them in class for an event like this.”

This event is made possible by both teacher instruction and department organization. While their performances are developed in the classroom, the event requires weeks of preparation.

“There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes too, there is coordination to make sure there are facilities available, so everyone is involved to make that happen,” Baker said. “It is really about all the different people who are involved putting forth all their effort to make sure this event can be successful.”

Baker hopes that the success of this event will foster continued growth throughout the year. The event teaches students how to prepare for a performance and how to execute on the day of the event.

“This lays the groundwork for preparing students to understand what it means to perform, how we perform, how we prepare ourselves, and everything that has to go into a performance like this,” Baker said.

While the event serves as a basis for development throughout the school year, students have benefited from the preparation in ways that go beyond short-term growth. Zhihanna Liu, Concert Master and violin player for the Symphony Orchestra, has been part of the orchestra program for the past four years. Liu has grown through the Collage Concert and other performances.

“I plan on doing an orchestra at the university I attend, and I am preparing my recordings,” Liu said. “Doing rehearsals with the symphony orchestra for the Collage Concert is helping me work on my practice skills. It’s getting me prepared for the next step beyond high school.”

Liu views the Collage Concert as a way of honing her skills for this year and future music opportunities. However, for many students this is the starting point.

“What’s exciting is that for some of our freshmen, this is their first concert at York,” Baker said. “It is always neat to think about this as that starting point. Even for the older students, this Collage Concert was their first concert in previous years.”

Getting ready for this concert was a unique experience for the fresh

man as this event is not a traditional music production. Brenna Wisniewski, freshman, plays the Obbo in Cadet Band and sings in Cadet choir. 

“Preparing for my first concert, Ms. M, Mr. Pavlick, and Mr. Ernst were all so helpful in rehearsals,” Wisniewski said. “I did have to put in a lot of preparation at home, but it was great because both are great communities.”

The Collage Concert benefits underclassmen and upperclassmen alike. Not only does the event allow students to perform with their respective ensembles, but it also allows students to celebrate the music department as audience members.

“My favorite part of the Collage Concert is probably just seeing all of my friends performing,” Liu said, “I think it’s so valuable to watch all of the hard work that they put into these performances. It’s a great showcase for all the different types of art York has to offer.”

The concert serves as a learning experience, but also a celebration of the different ensembles that strengthen the York Music Department.

“You get those little nuggets, getting to see students bounce between multiple performing ensembles,” Baker said. “That is kind of fun to see, especially for some of our older students, getting to see them become more and more invested in this community over the course of their time at York.”