A Song and a Symphony: HSPVA's Music Fest

“I like picturing the stage as its own separate thing. So l when I'm off stage, I'm not being perceived, there's no judgment,” says Alex Graf, a trombone player and senior at HSPVA. “And then once I'm ready, that's when I actually step on stage, and it’s almost like I accept the audience being there.”

Instrumental and vocal students at HSPVA have various performances throughout the year, but none larger than Music Fest. Held on September 15th,  Music Fest invites the Houston community to see performances from HSPVA’s incredibly talented musicians. 

Freshman Alex Faro, a saxophone player, is excited to just have a good time at Music Fest. “It’s very fun to play with other people,” he says. Upperclassmen students offer more reflections on how Music Fest has changed as they’ve gotten older: “I’ve gotten more comfortable with singing solo music, but I’ve also realized how much work goes into it [Music Fest],” vocal senior Cristina PerezRuiz says. 

A junior in the piano department, Audrey Huang feels that she’s become more comfortable performing compared to previous years. “I still do get nervous, but it allows me to enjoy myself a little bit more, and kind of have more fun when playing.” She says, “Music Fest is very collaborative. The goal is to play good and have fun. It's just such a loving and great environment for everybody to connect over music. I think there’s a lot less pressure than when I’m [for example] competing.”

Mariachi students play in the Commons space of HSPVA.

Junior cellist Noe Ramos has also noticed differences between Music Fest and other performances of his. “I definitely think it has more of a ‘do this for the audience’ [feeling]. And if you're at  a recital, it'll be a lot more… ‘oh we wanna play this as a group’ instead of, ‘oh I'm sure that people would love to hear this’.” He remembers “my favorite memory when I was a freshman [was that] I got to play in a group of seniors. And it was really fun because I got to experience playing with people that were that much better than me.”

For those attending, the fun of Music Fest is in navigating between different performances. All day, the recital halls, auditorium, bus drive, and back patio are stages for jazz combos, vocal solos, symphony movements, and more.

Senior oboe player Karsten Wilkinson offers a perspective on what this means for the musicians. “This performance is one of our hardest of the year… just the sheer logistics of it.” Ironically, one of his favorite memories was also formed by this hecticness. “I was helping the band president and a couple others run the event, but it was lunch time and we hadn't eaten yet. There was pizza and I had to deliver a lot of plates [and] then I got to run carefully balancing the pizza box and about 5 sodas for everyone. It reminds me of all the fun people I've worked with and all the shenanigans that go on backstage.”

Alex Graf agrees that Music Fest’s chaos is part of its charm. “It’s a lot more tiring [but] it’s a lot more enriching in a way. ‘OK, I just exhausted myself playing this one piece. OK, let me go see vocal for a change. Jumping around, it's a lot more fun in a way.”

Music Fest is a testament to the hard work of HSPVA students and teachers, parents and volunteers. It is a well-tuned band and a harmonizing choir. The soft click of piano pedals. But it’s also last-minute improvisations. It’s discovering that HSPVA has a handbell band, and doing your friend’s makeup backstage. For audience members and performers, it’s an unforgettable event.