A while back, while taking jazz piano lessons in Concord, I was horrified to hear my teacher announce that I had to play with a small professional combo at a local restaurant. "You don't understand," I insisted, "I just play for my own entertainment." "You don't understand;" he responded, "if you take lessons from me, you perform." (Note: This is NOT Bill Wightman's policy! Believing in the value of performance, Bill offers it as an opportunity to his students, which they embrace as illustrated below.)

On Thursday evening, the Proctor jazz/rock ensemble delighted a packed house at New London's Four Corners Grille.

 

Performance, it turns out, matters! All of the preparation, nervous jitters and concentration pay off on many levels. Lindsay and Caleigh are experienced vocalists with jazz/rock.

 

The next night, Slocumb Hall was packed as we admired student visual arts and sculpture. The photo below demonstrates a vanishing point!

 





Grace poses beneath her portrait taken by a very talented photographer, Yasmine:





As soon as the arts show ended, the dance team thrilled a large audience with a show entitled "Around the World."

 

The theme reflects the troupe's term-long explorations of dance movement from highly diverse cultures. Several dancers were out with influenza, so performances were cleverly rearranged for the survivors.

 

On Sunday afternoon, we were treated to superb performances by the Alice Fowler Singers, and solos by five voice majors.

 



Immediately prior to his challenging solo, one singer leaned over to me and confessed, "I have never been so nervous in my life!" A few minutes later, as applause thundered through the chapel, he experienced one of the happiest moments of his life. 

Performance is tough, but it brings about the best in learning. And speaking of performance, on Saturday Proctor cross country took fourth place in all New England, while a gutsy, proud Hornet football team shut out Holderness 18-0 in cold rain on Leonard Field! Congratulations to artists, athletes and those healthy enough to perform on final exams this week.