By Sana Yousuf, Staff Writer
On Friday, February 9th at 7:00 pm, the St. Louis School, a local elementary and middle Catholic school, will be holding their first-ever Valentine’s Day Jazz Cabaret, where an impressive lineup of three accomplished local artists will be featured. The tickets for the event cost $30 with the ticket proceeds going to the school. Several River Hill students volunteered for the event, and many planned on attending with family and friends for an evening showcase filled with musical talent.
Each of the three performers have displayed extensive success and musical skill. These performers include Erin Wegner Brooks, who has performed for Off-Broadway shows in New York City, Montel Butler, who has performed at Madison Square Garden and on Saturday Night Live, and Isaiah Shim, the current assistant conductor of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. All of the performers are based in Maryland and have attended St. Louis School in the past.
The three talented artists plan to collaborate for the event in order to bring an array of combined musical performances and artistry. Brooks comments on this, stating “We’ve created a program that explores different types of love and relationships, which allows us the opportunity to create an intimate and social atmosphere for storytelling. We as artists not only get to present our material, but share stories from our personal lives allowing the audience to get to know us a little over the course of the evening. I think it’s going to be a great night of music, storytelling, and celebrating love.”
Some students at River Hill who are involved in service based clubs such as National Honor Society see this concert as an excellent opportunity to help the community. Susan Lepple, the producer and organizer of the event, supports these student’s endeavors, stating “for the past two years, we have enjoyed having so many [River Hill] students volunteer with us, and we hope you will continue supporting us in exchange for service hours.”
The volunteers helped prepare for and clean up after the event. Along with this, River Hill volunteers also helped serve food and refreshments, including dessert which will be donated from Nothing Bundt Cakes. The time span for the volunteers lasted from 5:00 pm until 10:00 pm and gave students five total service hours, which ensures that student volunteers participating in the event will be earning their time-worth of hours.
Many River Hill students have volunteered for St. Louis School on several various occasions over the past few years. Most recent was the St. Louis Christmas concert, which took place on December 17th. The volunteer window for this event spanned several days, and awarded over 200 service hours to student volunteers. Junior Zehra Thakkar explains “I volunteered for St. Louis in December for their winter concerts. It was a really good way to get the hours I needed for the National Honor Society. I’m not volunteering for this [Valentine’s cabaret], but I might go with my siblings.”
From captivating instrumentals to outstanding vocals, the Valentine’s Day concert is sure to leave viewers of the performances in awe. Whether you are an avid fan of live music or are simply looking for a way to pass time with your family, loved ones, or friends, you should consider attending the St. Louis’ Valentine’s Day Jazz Cabaret as an exciting way to spend your Friday evening.