Harmony

Charlize Chen ‘19

As the reader may know, Ridge High School offers many music-based programs to students, such as orchestra, band, theatre, chorus, and much more. Whether a student is already an expert in the field or just starting out as a beginner, he or she is encouraged to express his or her skills to any of the ensembles Ridge has to provide. Music is a vital part of any student’s school experience. Not only do music programs assist in enhancing your musical merit, they offer the student a sense of teamwork and provide them with a skill they will keep for their whole life.

Usually, when many students sing or play together to achieve the same goal, they make new friends and experience trials as one. In an ensemble, it usually isn’t one spectacular musician that creates beautiful sound, but the different underlying tones of everybody’s unique style that allows harmony to become visible.

If I could provide a definition of harmony, it would be the memory of my first orchestra concert at the Ridge Performing Arts Center years ago – the tranquil, motionless plucking of the violins paired with the robust friction under my cello bow. The sense of harmony came to me during those moments, under the spotlight: my arm was aching from the heavy notes that still left vibrations floating across the room, but my awkward, strangely oblivious third-grade self was creating harmony with those around me.

This year, I’m a freshman here at Ridge, and I look forward to every orchestra class, where I can do what I love most – make music. Most importantly, music acts as a compass to direct the student through the twists and turns of high school, college, so on and so forth. Outside the music room, harmony is a splattering of diversity, a wink of tolerance, and a love for accepting those who might be different. It is not only collaboration at its finest, but taking what you have and making it something special.