In the Spotlight Performing Arts

THEATRE Spotlights shine on the satirical and spooky

From exposing political oppression in an apocalyptic society to discovering ghosts in a haunted school, the Upper School Playmakers, Harpeth Hall’s theatre troupe, put on a fall performance season filled with satire and spookiness. Students worked over the summer to rehearse, design, build, and stage the comedy Urinetown: The Musical, the 23rd annual musical collaboration between Harpeth Hall and MBA. In the days leading up to Halloween in October, the Playmakers presented a sold-out, smash-hit run of Ghostlight by Stephen Gregg. After a year with no live theatrical performances at Harpeth Hall, being in front of an audience created a much-missed energy and excitement in the theatre.

DANCE Building a production

When Dance Company Director Stephanie Hamilton was deciding on the theme for the fall performance, she knew the dance program would not be back completely to normal because of COVID-19. Using that as inspiration, she choreographed “Under Construction,” a dance program about rebuilding, using creative thinking to adapt to change, and creating something new in the process. “My creative vision was it wouldn’t matter what the concert ‘looked’ like if we were under construction,” Ms. Hamilton said. “We did not know if we would have a full-blown concert or if we would have to just work with small numbers and do something for only families. Luckily, we were live, but we did do several things differently.” Taking safety measures into consideration, Ms. Hamilton and her team restructured how the students prepared for the concert from spreading out locations of the dressing rooms to shortening the dance numbers so that they could do the show without an intermission to prevent gathering. “I feel like we reinvented the wheel yet again, working within parameters that changed continuously,” Ms. Hamilton said. Although the theme was “Under Construction,” the quality and energy of the performances were excellently polished and full of joy. The fall dance concert was a wonderful production demonstrating the talent, flexibility, and dedication of our students.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT On stage with . . . Sarah Lillard ’22

Senior Sarah Lillard has been playing the cello for six years and has been a key member of the Harpeth Hall orchestra since the 6th grade. Outside of orchestra, Sarah is the president of the Public Purpose Council, Harpeth Hall’s service initiative, and she just finished her final season on the varsity rowing team. What do you like most about playing in the Harpeth Hall orchestra? I love being a part of a community of music lovers. We all come from a wide variety of musical backgrounds and experiences so it’s a beautiful thing to see us all working together and talking through our music. What are the most challenging aspects and most rewarding aspects of playing your instrument? As somebody who was not gifted with musical talent, learning our more difficult pieces that we take to competition is quite challenging for me. With each piece comes repetition, frustration, and confusion, but nothing is more rewarding than finally getting the piece down and being able to lean into the notes and feel the orchestra flowing together. What is the best thing that Harpeth Hall has taught you? Harpeth Hall’s orchestra has taught me to be confident in myself. When you’re playing in an orchestra, it’s very important to play out. This means you’re leaning into the notes and keeping pressure on the bow in order to create a steady sound. Playing out can be intimidating when you’re nervous about playing the notes wrong, but I’ve had to learn to play confidently as I matured in the orchestra. Developing my confidence in my cello playing has translated outside of rehearsal as well, and I find myself far more confident in asking questions and communicating with my teachers now.

What drew you to teach at Harpeth Hall? When I interviewed for the job, I was first impressed by the way the faculty members presented themselves. The students were intelligent and teachable, and Nashville is a vibrant city for music making. After your first semester, what would you say you like the most about teaching at Harpeth Hall?

BEHIND the baton…

Meet Esther Ting

Choir teacher Esther Ting joined Harpeth Hall in 2021 after graduating with her artist certificate (concentration in choral conducting) from Georgia State University and earning a Master of Music in Conducting from the Eastman School of Music in 2020. In addition to working as a vocal coach, she sings professionally with Yale Camerata of the Institute of Sacred Music, Atlanta Chamber Choir, and BachFest Malaysia. Seeing my students grow. I had tears in my eyes when I first heard my 8th grade students sing in two parts. It took us a long time to get to this point. I am very proud of them.

As a teacher, what is the most important lesson you could impart on your students? That music making not only enriches our lives but also brings comfort and joy to the community that we are in. The students are making a positive impact in someone else’s life when they give a performance on stage. What are you looking forward to exploring most in your classes? The chamber choir is looking forward to performing in Carnegie Hall in New York City with the Fisk Jubilee Singers and the Headmasters Singers from MBA in the spring semester. We will also premier a newly commissioned choral piece featuring a poem written by choir student Cori Magsby ’22. If you could sit down to dinner with any three musicians in history, whom would you invite? I would invite J. S. Bach (I think I will learn a lot about life and music making from him, and oh! how he managed to raise 20 children), Franz Liszt (apparently he was a piano rock star during his time and I want to know what is in his mind when he performs), and Robert Schumann (he had a tough life and I want to ask how he is doing).