Magic on Campus

Throughout the year, people of many talents gather in a room hidden within the T. Gil Bunch Centre, behind the stage and through a heavy door. However, this is no ordinary room. This room is like a sorcerer's hat, with the ability to be filled with magic. What would a room of such extraordinary talent be called? Behold, the Asper Room. Its height is approximately Mr. Felix multiplied by five, its area roughly half the size of a tennis court. The magic produced within this space flows up to the wooden ceiling, to the ocean through the windows, and into our very souls. As Marilyn Manson once mused, "music is the strongest form of magic."  Alone, Asper is the lost city of Atlantis waiting for its people to return. Accompanied, Asper is where the party is at. The walls sing and the drums pulse to the beat of tunes played. A room once filled only with the voices of objects quickly fills with the joy of music. As for the musicians in Asper, they are mutually content as they hear their sound bounce from ceiling to floor and from ear to soul. Magic is in the air.  Flying in all the way from Saudi Arabia, Michelle M, Allard '19, has recently joined the wind ensemble. She is highly experienced and has impressed us all with her beautiful flute playing. Michelle is "really enjoying it, even though [she] thought it would be a smaller group. This size is really nice." Another recent addition to this family is David K, Whittall '16, coming from Rwanda. Not only is he a fast-improving and determined drummer, he is also a debater and tennis player. From his point of view, the "wind ensemble family is welcoming and impressively proficient at creating beautiful music as a result of talent brought together in one room." The wind ensemble family, the score and four of us, welcomes both of these talented people and looks forward to the many experiences we will all share. Our magic is growing.  The musicians here practice not only for themselves, but to also spread their gift of music to others. For the past two months, the pieces "Donkey Riding", "Connemara Sketches," and "Air for Band" have resonated from the wind ensemble. Sore lips and meticulous tuning could be agonizing at times, but all of this pain helped the ensemble prepare for the festivals coming up in April and May. The steepest part of the mountain has almost been climbed, leaving the ensemble to be excited in anticipation for the summit of our performance. Magic is coming. Asper is just a room as the White House is just a house. It would be a shame to see what Mr. Tristan Clausen calls a "beautiful room with a high wooden ceiling" not be appreciated and remembered. Asper holds the memories of each band, each musician, and each note that ever lived within the room and will continue to do so until the "last syllable of recorded time." Magic is here at Brentwood.  The average passerby will walk past Asper and think nothing of it. However, you are no longer average. You now have the knowledge of this spectacular space and can appreciate its every detail. All you have to do now is waltz on in and become a part of Asper's memories. Long live the magic of music!  Christopher C, Rogers '16