by Nash Alonto
Feb. 12, 2024
Allegra Wright stood up on stage, with a spotlight shining above her, performing one of her favourite songs, Someone Gets Hurt from Mean Girls: the Musical. It was a dream come true for her to be able to perform in front of a packed crowd.
Wright wore a short pink dress while performing the song, with the band playing along as the song progresses. She felt exhilarated having to perform in front of a packed house at the venue.
“It’s nice being in this program, because we get a lot of opportunities to use this stage, so I do feel really comfortable up there now after a year and a half in the program, especially when you have a full house like this and getting to feed off the audience,” Wright said.
The best part for Wright being on stage is when she connects with her classmates while performing their set.
“Getting to put a band together, to work on pieces that I was really passionate about and getting people excited about that, it’s really nice that we get to express, like, truly what we wanna do with music and bring collaborators in for that,” she said.
Wright is one of 24 music performance students from Holland College who performed during the School of Performing Arts’ (SoPA) Winter Concert Series at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall on Fri., Feb. 9, 2024.
This is the second week of the series; the first show was on Feb. 1.
The concert series is held every year to showcase second-year music performance students who put on different 20-minute sets with their fellow classmates.
“Music performance only happens with an audience, and that experience of being in a stage with a live audience is a huge part of their education and learning to be a live performer,” said music theory and bass instructor Adam Hill.
For Hill, the best part of these performances is when each student’s personality comes out when they’re on stage.
“All throughout their term, as a student here, they’re in curricular ensembles, they’re given music by their instructors, they’re learning music as part of their courses, and this Winter Concert Series really gets to the heart of what each of these students is, as a musical artist, and it speaks to what their personality is,” he said.
The performances were fantastic, said David Duggan, an audience member from Charlottetown.
“(The performers) have the opportunity get up on stage and do their art. It’s a great opportunity for them, and a great opportunity for (the audience) to see talent,” Duggan said.
Duggan’s favourite part was when the students performed the song Free by Florence and the Machine on stage.
“It was beautifully done. I love all the instruments. Everybody came together and performed really well,” he said.
There are two more shows in the Winter Concert Series scheduled for March 1 and 22 at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall, as well as a separate final performance for the students in April this year.
Meanwhile, Wright is set to play the role of Maureen in the local production of the iconic musical Rent, also in April, as well as in Anne and Gilbert in the summer.
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