On March 3, Maggie Walker hosted Youth Art and Music Month, also known as YAMM, a celebration of students’ accomplishments in visual and musical arts. This night of music and art showcased students’ talents within band, chorus, orchestra, and art. The hallways were filled with sounds of music, and artwork this night truly represented the best of Maggie Walker’s artistic abilities. “I don’t normally get to go to the concerts, but I do get to hear all of the hard work the kids put into them on a daily basis, so having the opportunity to hear them perform was really wonderful,” said Coach Jeff Hall, the head of the arts department at MLWGS. The YAMM concert is so special because it is an opportunity for all of the art programs at Maggie Walker to join together and celebrate each other’s accomplishments. “My favorite part of the concert was being able to actually listen to the band and chorus,” said freshman Anna Kim, a student in the intermediate orchestra.

To kick off the event, the Concert Band performed three of their best pieces. With an amazing rendition of Big Four, the band captured the audience’s attention immediately. After playing two more songs, Sovereign Variants and Catalyst, the Concert Band impressed the audience. The Concert Band was composed of the three band units combined, and they played more concert-based songs, differing from the jazz based ones in the past. “We felt a lot more unified as one large ensemble, instead of separate smaller bands like in the previous performances,” said freshman Peize Wang, who enjoyed the opportunity to play together.

The band portrayed beautiful dynamics and played with professionalism, with Wang sharing that his favorite song was Sovereign Variants. “It’s elegant and beautiful to the ears, especially during the nice slow middle section of the music where the clarinets started off,” he said. The brass instruments had beautiful melodies, and the percussion brought the music to life; it was a highlight of the show.

After the Concert Band performed, there was a short intermission for audience members to transition to their next desired activity, but many stayed for the performance of Maggie Walker’s chorus. After the virtual performance of the YAMM concert last year Mrs. Michelle Graham, Maggie Walker’s choir director, was extremely grateful for the opportunity to perform in-person. “It is a joy to perform in person with a live audience,” she said.

The chorus sang five different pieces which showed off their vocal ability. There were multiple soloists highlighted in the performance, one of them being freshman Sunjay Anup, who sang the solo in the piece MLK. Mrs. Graham mentioned that this song was one of her favorites, stating, “The harmony is beautifully written; the soloist was incredible.” The chorus took a new approach when performing this song, and instead of standing on the risers, where they normally perform, they made the choice to surround the audience by standing in the isles. This created a very full sounding effect, and the audience was amazed by the creativity.

Another piece the audience and singers loved was Witness. “I love the harmony, the personality of the characters and how they were composed in the music, and the thrilling ending chord,” Graham said when she elaborated on the piece.

Along with the band and chorus, all three of Maggie Walker’s orchestras performed at the concert. Adding to the night of music the Intermediate, Advanced, and Artist orchestras amazed the audience with their complicated compositions. “My favorite piece was probably Arlington Sketches because we had spent so much time working on the dynamics/contrast of the piece and we focused a lot on staying together which was hard in some parts because of the faster notes,” stated Kim when asked what her favorite piece was. Overall, the orchestras had a beautiful performance, a lovely conclusion to the concert.