On March 31, the Upper School Jazz Band and B-Flats performed in the Chapel together for newly accepted students in an admissions concert; a performance which marked the first joint in-person performance between the two groups since the onset of the pandemic. The two groups performed an arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Tuesday Heartbreak,” featuring an engaging trumpet solo by David Carter ’22.
In preparation for the performance, the performers rehearsed their parts individually over spring break, only meeting to rehearse in the days leading up to the concert. After a number of small adjustments, the group was ready to perform on Thursday night with only a couple days of rehearsals.
Despite the pressure of performing in front of prospective students and potentially influencing their decision to attend the school, the performers felt relaxed and comfortable on the stage. As a member of the Jazz Band put it, “being up on the stage with so many of my friends from the B-flats and the Band really allowed us to just have fun and enjoy the moment.”
The performance lasted roughly three minutes, with the B-flats singing the upbeat but somber lyrics of Wonder’s “Tuesday Heartbreak,” with a solo from David Carter in the middle. Another member of the Jazz band commented on the success of the performance: “I think we did much better in the actual performance than in any of our rehearsals. We all came off the stage smiling, and I think the incoming students enjoyed it as well.”
Looking to the future, both the Jazz Band and the B-Flats are eager for another joint performance. The experience of working together to fuse vocal and instrumental parts was a unique experience which broadened the scope of the groups’ musical understanding. Hopefully, Belmont Hill will see another Jazz-Band-B-Flat performance in the near future.
