On Friday evening, dozens of high school students from two Chicago high schools filed into Parker’s Heller auditorium to put on a set of songs by choir and band.  The third annual Independent School Music Festival included students from Lincoln Park High School’s band, as well as Parker’s US band and choir students. Previous years of this festival have featured students from Lincoln Park High School, North Shore Country Day, Latin, and a school in California called the Oakwood School of California.

At 4pm, the students, separated into band and choir, went into the small gym and draft gym for a two-hour rehearsal guest-directed by performer, composer, and award winning educator Steve Martin (band) and Choir Director for Clinton Rosette and Huntley Middle School Gregory King (choir), broke for dinner, and then performed their joint concert at 7pm, which lasted about half an hour.

The event concluded with a bang.  Literally.  That of the “canons” of “The 1812 Overture.”

Music Teacher Sunnie Hikawa, who has helped lead the event all three years, explained why she thinks this event is a good experience for Parker’s music students. “I love the idea that we’re making music and creating something,” Hikawa said, “and giving the students a creative outlet that’s with people that they don’t know.”

Hikawa reflected on how the festival is pedagogically effective. “My job is what can I do for my students to help them grow, to help them learn who they are, learn about the world around them, learn about their identity, and gain confidence,” Hikawa said. “So as teacher, if that is my goal, then this provides all of that.”

Music teacher Alec Synakowski likes the idea of the festival. “It shows how universal music is, and it shows that music can bring people together,”  Synakowski said.  “You literally don’t have to speak the same language, but you can still make music together.”

The musicians from the participating schools spent about 3 months preparing for the festival. The concert featured pieces such as “The 1812 Overture,” by Russian Composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; “The 10th Planet,” by Michael Story; and “Shipwrecked,” by Ryan Nowlin. “The 1812 Overture” notably features sounds that represent cannons, which adds a powerful element, according to Synakowski.

“It’s like when you meet people on a travel soccer team,” Synakowski said. “You meet over a common medium of sports. This is the same thing except in music, it’s like, ‘Oh, you play music, I play music–let’s play music together.’”

Sophomore choir member Arie King, a couple weeks before the performance, reflected on why the event has been rewarding to her. “I really like the fact that several choirs can come together,” King said, “and I also like getting feedback from other choir directors out of Parker.” King also noted that she is happy that the performance this year was on a school day instead of during the weekend.

Choir Student and Junior Audrey May reflected on why she likes these events. “I thought it went pretty well,” she said, “and in the two hours we rehearsed, we definitely improved a lot.”

Senior Axel Berlin found the event useful too. He said, “It was an adequate reflection of the hard work we put in.”