Cabaret Night, NDA’s celebration of the fine arts, will fill the school’s commons, library and auditorium with a variety of entertainment.
“I always say the Academy Awards is the best night of the fall semester,” said English teacher Carolyn Brown, “and Cabaret Night is the best night of the spring semester.”
The three hours of entertainment is entirely free, and visitors roam the school from the art show in the library to musical performances in the auditorium, library and commons.
Music in the commons will be kicked off with Adrien Eggener and Grace Goh performing the “Star Spangled Banner.”
After that, several outstanding performers from the GRACE schools will be featured, along with the NDA Jazz Band, JV DrumLine and Banda.
“Banda is a new ensemble this year which features some of our very talented Hispanic students playing music from Mexico–and they sound great,” said Band Director Steve Johnson.
“The really unique thing about Cabaret Night is the opportunity for students to organize and rehearse music on their own, which they’ve been spending a lot of time on, but It’s also a chance to hear faculty doing their thing,” added the band director.
The band director evidently knew Mr. Greg Geiser and Mrs. Maria Hinnendael will be singing, Mr. Doug Guyette will be playing drums, and Mr. Chris Gray, playing his bagpipes, will lead everyone into the auditorium for the final hour of performances and art award ceremonies.
Band parents will once again provide meals and treats for attendees. The meal is catered this year and features a number of options, including pulled pork, mac-n-cheese, hot dogs and chicken tenders.
Orders can be placed ahead of time by scanning the QR code on the flyers at school or checking the link in the weekly NDA News and Notes.
Along with the music of Johnson’s band kids and Hinnendael’s Show Choir, the evening includes the art show under the direction of art teacher Tina Harpold. The Morning Show has featured the three artists invited to judge the student art work.
One of Harpold’s favorite moments is seeing who wins every year.
She also loves seeing the professional judges’ perspectives as outsiders who don’t know the students.
The peoples’ and judges’ reactions to the work are always so interesting and insightful, she said, and the audience will get to hear some of their comments during the awards presentations.
“The most obvious ‘big’ art presence is the IB art exhibits,” continued the art teacher. “This year we have juniors who are each presenting one piece in anticipation of their full exhibition next year.”
Coordinating the entire event is Student Government executive adviser Jen Laaksonen.
“Frau never ceases to amaze me,” said Brown. “From scheduling all the performers to setting up all the performance spots with mikes and technology to getting the word out to everyone, she does it all without having to be the center of attention.”
