On the evening of May 10, the guitar and orchestra programs held their spring concerts. However, instead of two full-size concerts, the first half was made up of solos, duos, trios, and quartets of students from both programs to create a “coffee shop” concert. Students chose the pieces they performed, and many stayed after school or came during their study halls to get the music right. Both programs were directed by Matthew Trkula. “Normally all the other concerts are a little more formal and we play as a large group. This is kind of like an open mic style and we do it as a reception afterward, so this is probably the most casual one of the year and kind of like an end-of-the-year party for us,” Trkula said.

The night began with a duet from Trkula on guitar and teacher Kiko Dudley singing “Fast car” by Tracy Chapman. That was followed by a performance of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” done by Grant MacMillan on electric guitar, Wayne Griffin on bass guitar, and Carlos Escobar on vocals. Other highlights of the first half were solos by Ryan Oats on guitar, Nate Casarrubias on guitar, James Nanna on guitar, Nilson Zelaya on violin, Luke Stewart on violin, Joey Walker on double bass, Kiya Banks on guitar and vocals, and Edgar Romero-Ayala on guitar. The first half ended with a duet from Trkula on guitar and MacMillan on electric guitar. 

“The freshmen and the people who have never played before are the ones I’m kind of most proud of because it takes so much guts to do it, especially their first time,” Trkula said.

After a brief intermission, larger groups took over from both the guitar and orchestra. They all performed pieces they chose for a competition at Busch Gardens on May 20.

A few days earlier, on May 5, guitar put in a solid show at the Aguado competition. They finished second in the Ensemble 11th-12th grade, Oats won the freshman solo competition, and Emmanuel Nacional won second in the senior solo competition. 

“It’s a lot more stressful because, you know, in middle school, there’s not many people playing, and you know, the songs are easier. This one was kind of like my first, like, actual big concert, but it was fun,” Nanna said.

Trkula agreed that there is relief in this being the last concert of the year. “I love the concerts, but the logistics are stressful, but the actual performances are a lot of fun,” Trkula said