Mackenzie Higgins
blakespectrum.org
Thursday | December 14 | 2023
Issue V
The Blake School
Final Performances Cap off Semester in Arts Yoni Zacks | Online Editor
Evan Vezmar | Managing Editor
Cleo Kilpatrick | Photo Editor
Davin Khan
Sofia Perlman
Evan Vezmar
The Nov. 28 choir concert, “The Poet Sings,” featured songs, poetry, four choirs, two student a capella groups, and an emergency pianist change. The concert also featured six languages: German, English, Latin, Malaysian, Spanish, and Lakota. In order to prepare for the lullaby, Chaz Wagner, a member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe “shared how to teach and perform the traditional melodies,” according to the concert program. Dr. Thomas Wyatt “[facilitated] conversation with Dakota artists, and Rueben Kitto Stately of the Red Lake Nation and the Santee Sioux Nation “joined us in class to share music, stories, and perspectives in engaging with Native music.” The lullaby, Chanté Wasté Hokšila will be performed once again by the A Capella choir and the Chamber Orchestra at the Minnesota Music Educators Association Midwinter Convention on Feb. 17, “the equivalent of making it to state as a music ensemble,” according to the program. From poems such as “Stars” by Sara Teasdale to songs from movies such as “Go the Distance” from Disney’s “Hercules” to “Bills, Bills, Bills” by Destiny’s Child, the concert featured incredible art.
On Thursday, Dec. 7, the Improvisation and Acting class taught by theater teacher Taous Khazem took their semester final — a performance in the Black Box Theater. The performance itself was made up of improv games and selected scenes from two different plays, Qui Nguyen’s play “She Kills Monsters” and “Suspicious Minds” from “A Trip to the Moon” by Tracy Wells. Saleya Scott ‘25 participated in the final. “My improv game was called freeze, where people would do random stuff, have a scene ready and someone would say ‘freeze’ walk over, touch the person they want out, replace that person and they do a whole other scene they’ve provided,” explained Scott. Scott also reflected that her biggest take away from this class was the importance of confidence. “Parker [McKeown ‘27] says this [saying] every day in class which is ‘confidence is key’ and it really is true. You have to have a certain level of confidence to actually do improv. Sometimes it is embarrassing especially when someone gives you a specific scene, like pretend you two are love birds. It really is a confidence thing,” she said.
The Chamber Orchestra and Symphonic Winds winter concert on Nov. 29 featured four student groups: Jazz Express, a cello ensemble, and two Ursa Major performances, along with main orchestra and band ensembles. Notably, the orchestra performed a strings premiere of “Monarch Migration,” and the musicians worked with the composer in preparation. “Being able to work with a living piece of music is really fun because there’s edits and changes happening in the process,” Orchestra and Band Director Brian Lukkasson said. “I think it’s a really great experience for students to work with living composers and different voices.” Layla Chakhvashvili ‘26, one of the Ursa Major leaders, expressed how the student-led groups worked without the influence of the director. “It’s really interesting experience not having Mr. Lukkasson there all the time… I think it was interesting to see how the large student perspective can help shape [a piece] differently,” Chakhvashvili said. The band and orchestra are looking forward to the music tour in Kansas City over MLK weekend, and the Chamber Orchestra will perform with the Upper School a capella choir at the Minnesota Music Educators Association concert at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Feb. 17.
Taher CEO Explores Culture Through Cuisine Debate Prepares for Edie Chef shares experiences, builds community Faith Zhao | Staff Writer
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n Nov. 29, Bruce Taher, Taher Food Service’s CEO, served paella, an authentic Spanish dish, to the Upper School. Taher, the food management service that supplies Blake with all nutritional requests, manages 3500 employees and serves about 350 public and private schools from California to D.C. Taher shares his excitement visiting Blake, saying, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to get in front of customers. Most students [don’t] think that they’re our customers, but they are…[W]e have a job, and we come in, have fun and take care of our families.” “We’re also an edu-
cation business because we know a lot about food, and we want to share [our knowledge], and surprisingly, more and more students like to know more about food,” Taher said. Taher is a chef-driven team, with one or two chefs at each operation.“[We] like to prepare 75% of our meals from scratch, which requires chefs to get raw ingredients from the local area,” Taher said. For the past 23 years, Taher’s board of 17 chefs traveled the globe in search of new culinary experiences. This past year, they traveled to the Philippines and Taiwan. “We are always searching for food that is wholesome that is nutritious and then we find [it] from different cultures,” said Taher. Taher’s team emphasizes “bring[ing] those [experiences and feelings] back.” We’re just a bunch
of food junkies,” Taher said. In the southern part of Texas, where Taher has a client, the only available flavors were Mexican food and Texan barbeque. To bring students new tastes, Taher invited a Japanese chef to serve and teach students how to make Japanese food and found that
“we had more participation from students and families [than] we’ve ever had.” “We have a slogan in our marketing ‘have a seat at our table’ you never know what you get because there’s always a variety, it’s connecting us,” Taher said. For the complete article visit blakespectrum.org
Faith Zhao
Dominic Bollettieri ‘25, Drew Dillon ‘25, and Miguel Quintero ‘25 serve themselves Chef Taher’s paella on Nov. 29.
Tournament creates unique experience Eva Gleason | Staff Writer
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or the Blake Debate Team, the weeks preceding winter break are packed with preparation and anticipation for the annual John Edie Holiday Invitational. The three-day tournament, hosted by Blake, welcomes over 1,000 participants from over 100 schools nationwide. Debate team co-captain, Zellie Olson ‘25, recalls her first Edie tournament. “The first time I went, since it was very early in my experience, I was just kind of thrown into varsity, especially since I was competing with teams from across the country,” she said. One of the most memorable and distinctive parts of the tournament is the unusual attire. Instead of wearing
Over break, go out and support your fellow Bears. Boys’ Hockey has a home game vs. Gentry Academy on Dec. 15.
Spectrum continues coverage of objective-based grading, sharing more perspectives on the topic.
“I feel like I’m able to have a really big impact by creating systems and programs that are then available to students,” Anne Stavney said.
Things to Do: Page 2
Perspectives: Page 3
Features: Page 4
the traditional, professional clothing, many participants elect the more festive choice of holiday sweaters. In order to maximize success and improve performance, the team works hard to prepare for the tournament. “We prepare with a lot of research because this is the first tournament on the new topic,” Olson said. The tournament offers a rare opportunity for Blake debate members to simultaneously compete with students from both the local and national circuit. “It’s always a really interesting lens of Minnesota and a local circuit and brought into a national circuit,” Olson shared. The diversity in argumentation strengthens the ability to adapt when faced with unfamiliar judging styles amongst competing teams and “builds skills of adaptation so you can become the most competitive you can.”