The Express Music Club is planning its future performances at both the local nursing home, The Villages of Rockville, and at a concert for the upcoming winter and spring seasons.
Express is a chamber and symphony music club, which Carolyn Herman, the club sponsor, describes as a “student club of musicians whose main goal is to perform at nursing homes for community service learning hours.”
Waverly Nakashima, one of the club’s co-presidents, said, “We create music enrichment and performance opportunities that differ from the ones offered through school to provide different musical experiences for our club members.”
According to Nakashima, Express is planning two concerts: Amy Huang, the other Express co-president, is planning the winter concert at The Villages of Rockville and Nakashima is planning the Symphony concert in March. Leading up to those performances, there will be rehearsals during lunch and advisory where the musicians will be able to practice the pieces. “Playing music for the elderly in our community is a good way to give back while also practicing musical skills by playing in a smaller group setting,” Nakashima said.
The Express leadership has also started planning additional pieces that are going to be played. “In terms of music that we perform, we do a lot of interesting arrangements, such as last spring where we did an Indiana Jones arrangement,” club secretary Katherine Chow said. “For the big concert, there is debate on whether there will be How To Train Your Dragon music, but that is tentative.”
Express has a range of student leadership positions. The leaders take care of all of the planning for events, such as the Village of Rockville performances, and are also in charge of what music is performed and the music arrangements. Herman said that Express is a “good leadership opportunity for older students. ”With a club as large as Express, strong leadership is key. “Express has over 90 members who all play active roles in our club, so it is critical that everything is organized heavily in advance,” Nakashima said. “I was the president of Express last year and I started planning our spring concert with the Villages of Rockville in January even though it didn’t occur until late April.”
Another important aspect of Express is the inclusivity. “We think it is important that everyone has equal access to our performance opportunities, so we do our best to let our club members know of concert dates in advance so we can have as many people attend them as possible,” Nakashima said. “There are no club fees because we want as many people to have access to Express and making music as possible.”
As the concert dates draw near, club members and student leaders are working hard to give a performance that everyone, including both the musicians performing and the audiences who will be able to experience the beautifully put together pieces, will enjoy.
For more information about Express and their events, find them on Instagram @woottonexpress, talk to Herman in room 125, or email them at [email protected].
