By Cynthia Wang
At precisely 6:05 PM on Friday, January 18th, MCs Deven Mirchandani and Steven Shi opened Tri-M Music Honor Society’s annual music show Pudong Rocks. Amid waves of roars from the audience, performers like sixth grader Mimi Power, sophomore Jason Xu, and sophomore Anna Snow waited in the sidelines.
It is traditionally rare to see middle-schoolers like Power in the show. Yet, this precedent did not sway Power. Power said, “the opportunity to perform for the school sounded really exciting to me and I loved performing.”
Power’s sentiment was something performers appeared to have in common as they arrived at Pudong Rocks auditions: they love to perform.
“I really love performing,” Snow said. “I thought that Pudong Rocks would be a great opportunity to get to sing and perform for people.”
Xu added on, “I thought performing would help me open up and be able to present what I have to others.”
Senior and President of the Tri-M Music Honor Society Graham Devereux agreed. “[I really looked forward to] supporting our performing arts community and giving students a way to perform for others.”
As performers made their way from auditions to rehearsals to show night, they received constant support from their peers.
“I think what made Pudong Rocks special to me was the people who came to watch and my friends who came to support me,” said Snow.
Interactions with the Tri-M community and other performers along the way also defined the show.
Power said, “I enjoyed collaborating and meeting new people [at Pudong Rocks] and I made a new friend.”
In a way, Pudong Rocks felt like a talent show.
“Everyone got an opportunity to audition and at least try out for Pudong Rocks,” Power said. Snow added on to this and said, “it’s just really cool to see kids from a big range of ages perform so many incredible and unique talents.”
It’s fair to say that everyone remembers something different when they recall last Friday’s show.
To Snow, the MCs made the day, saying, “I love the MCs and I think they’re hilarious.” To Xu, the show boasts SAS Pudong’s greatest performing artists, saying, “Pudong Rocks is a concert where all of those who want to can show what SAS Pudong can do.”
To Devereux, the performers are what make up the show, and they are what make this year’s show so memorable.
“Pudong Rocks serves to showcase the best talent of our school and provide a platform for students to challenge themselves and show off their skills to the community. This is something that other school concerts don’t provide.”