The smell of Thanksgiving turkey wafted through the band room, complementing the sound of students’ jazz-inspired performances. For this year’s Thanksgiving Open Mic Night, on Friday, Nov. 21, spectators, ranging from peers to parents and other adults, enjoyed the show’s unique blend of practiced and improvised performances.
Featuring original compositions and classic songs, Micsgiving is one way the Performing Arts Department leads into Thanksgiving break, and it offers a place for students to express their musical identity. Any artist, new or experienced, is encouraged to perform at Open Mic nights. At this Micsgiving, Senior Ingrid Aumiller, singer for the Music Collective and one of the high school’s jazz ensembles, emceed the event, entertaining the audience with Thanksgiving-inspired jokes.
To start the show, the Music Collective presented several pieces, including “Sir Duke” by Stevie Wonder and “Señor Blues” by Horace Silver. Following the Music Collective, multiple improv groups and solo artists performed as band teacher Carolyn Castellano served Thanksgiving dinner to audience members. Castellano said the tradition was inspired by a former student who wanted to bring a turkey to the show. After that, she kept the tradition going.
While attendees enjoyed their meal, freshman performer Adam Haspel played “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra on the ukulele. Haspel said he has found Open Mic nights to be a good environment to improve his musical abilities.
“I like expressing myself artistically through performance,” Haspel said. “I’m always trying to better myself, so I really enjoy this kind of stuff.”
Open Mic nights foster community. Castellano said they are an ideal space for student musicians to grow as performers.
“Sometimes, people who are still learning are messing up, but it’s a very supportive crowd,” Castellano said. “I really enjoy that because that’s how you get better performing, you have to mess up.”
Castellano has watched band members grow at open mic nights. She said she often sees a significant improvement from performers over the years.
“There’s some former students that when they were playing at these open mics, they were terrible, and now they’re professionals,” said Castellano.
Aumiller, who performed her original song at the end of the night, said Open Mics have allowed her to grow as an artist.
“I used to be more shy, but now I’m not shy anymore, and that’s definitely because of Open Mic night[s]. And now I am running [Micsgiving], which is crazy,” Aumiller said.
Open Mic nights, Aumiller said, are also great because of the support of her peers and the audience.
“It is just the best vibe. We all bring the food, we all contribute,” Aumiller said. “It’s just such a nice community with everybody coming here together. Even new people try music for the first time!”
