Music instructor Ernie Scarbrough launches his Lunchtime Concerts on Tuesday, Oct. 18 and Tuesday, Feb. 28, the first of two concerts in Caswell Hall during the first and third quarters of the year. These concerts provide members of the Marlborough community the chance to listen to the pieces the Concert Choir, Choral Concepts, Chamber Choir and the 21st Century Ensemble have been working on.
Scarbrough started doing Lunchtime Concerts ten years ago as another way to assess his students aside from the traditional winter and spring concerts. Along with the academic aspect of the concerts, Scarbrough said he uses them as an opportunity for his students to develop as performers.
“I hope that [my students] get a sense of what it’s like to perform in front of an audience. The more you do live performance, the better you become because you’re more at ease,” Scarbrough said.
First-time performers look forward to Lunchtime Concerts as a chance to become more comfortable on stage.
“I’m both looking forward to and nervous about actually singing in front of people because I rarely have. [The concerts] seem beneficial and fun,” Arianna ’21 said, who is a member of choral concepts.
According to Scarbrough, the Lunchtime Concerts also allow community members who are not involved with the performing arts to participate in the experience as an audience member.
“It’s things like these that help the student body relax, be entertained and hopefully, understand what it’s like to make music together,” Scarbrough said.
The appeal of Lunchtime Concerts extends to the rest of the Marlborough community as well.
“Music brings people together, and I think it’s such an easy thing to bond over and enjoy,” Sophie ’17 said, who is a member of Chamber Choir.
While turnout at Lunchtime Concerts is typically low due to student meetings with teachers and clubs, performers hope that this year more people will attend. Some think the key to more attendance is changing the set list of the choral groups.
“While choir music can be pretty, I think one way the Lunchtime Concerts can improve is if the choirs performed songs that more people already know and enjoy,” Isabel ’18 said, a member of Chamber Choir.
Lunchtime Concerts will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 18 and Tuesday, Feb. 28 in Caswell Hall.
