Monroe-Woodbury High School students performed in their annual Prism Concert on Monday, February 11.

The chamber orchestra, symphonic orchestra, the wind ensemble, voice ensemble, symphonic band, jazz ensemble, treble choir groups performed.

The Prism Concert differs from other concerts held, in that students are given the opportunity to perform in groups they normally do not get to. Typically, the orchestra, chorus, and band perform separately; however, in this concert, they get a chance to perform together.

Students are also given a chance to perform in small chamber groups, chosen to highlight their instruments or voices.

The performances took place in different locations of the auditorium, as opposed to the usual concert, where every performance takes place on the stage. The string quartet played their piece in the upper rear of the auditorium after the wind ensemble finished their performance on the stage. This is done in order to give the audience a new and exciting experience.

Since this concert is different than most at this school, it required three rehearsals in order to make sure that everything would go smoothly for the final performance.

All the groups practiced their music for over a month.

The concert finished with a grand finale of everyone that participated in the concert performing “America the Beautiful.” For this particular song, the performers were placed throughout the auditorium, giving the audience a view of them, no matter where there were sitting.

Jon English, a freshman in the wind ensemble, said the Prism Concert was “very cool.”

This concert removes the issue of having to get a ‘good’ seat since the performances take place in so many locations you are guaranteed to have a good view of some performances.

“It was a very fun event,” said Kristen Carroll, a sophomore in the chamber orchestra. “10/10 would recommend.”

The main idea of this concert is to focus on the sound and the performances, not the performers. In order to help achieve this goal, the performers all wore black, the time in between performances was limited and the audience was asked to hold their applause until the end.

“It was different than anything I’d ever experienced before,” said Jessica Sisilli, a member of the treble choir. “The acts were short yet memorable and it was laid out in such a way that it was easier to follow.”