Spring Music Festival Rocks the Hilltop

Canterbury’s 2024 Spring Music Festival was a huge hit, showcasing a variety of musical genres, tremendous performances, and 10 extraordinary Sixth Form musicians on the Maguire Auditorium stage for the final time as students. Head of School Rachel Stone P ’23, ’24 even sat in on drums! 

An appreciative audience enjoyed amazing renditions of Taylor Swift’s single You Belong With Me, John Mayer’s emotional Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, SZA’a hit Snooze, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic Free Bird, and many more. The grand finale, a rousing performance of Coldplay’s A Sky Full of Stars, brought students out of their seats to the front of the stage, dancing and laughing and singing along. The positive energy in the room was infectious.

Director of Music David Overthrow had high praise for all the performers and held a special place in his heart for the departing Sixth Formers. “I felt immense pride and joy as I watched the seniors take the stage,” he said afterwards. “Being able to share the culmination of their remarkable achievements and the bittersweet farewell brought out a variety of emotions from all of us. It has been a privilege to share my knowledge and experience with these exceptional students.”

Eliza Agredano ’24 was emotional indeed as she summed up this final show with her Sixth Form classmates. “Being a part of the Canterbury music program has been such a rewarding experience,” she said. “The members of the Rock Band and other music ensembles have allowed me to learn and grow as a musician while offering a space for friendship and fun. This last concert, as bittersweet as it may feel, is the perfect ending note to our musical journey at Canterbury.”

Bravo to all of our musicians and singers for ending the 2023-24 school year on such a high note:

Honors Contemporary Band
Jose “Pepe” Hanze ’24
Asher Hughes ’24
Morgan Lau ’24
Jiarui “Jerry” Liu ’25
Kate McDonough ’24
Ryan Oemcke ’24
Nicholas Rafferty ’25
Patrick Toon ’24

Contemporary Music Band Workshop
Zeba Ahmed ’26
Yun “Angel” Lin ’26
Jiaqi “Jenny” Yu ’27

Contemporary Music Band
Ava Faruol ’24
David Kim ’25
Rahee “Ren” Kim ’25
Yun “Angel” Lin ’26
Jiaqi “Jenny” Yu ’27
Lezhi “Martin” Zhang ’24
Junzhe “Michael” Zhao ’25

Rock Band 
Eliza Agredano ’24
Serena Bacetti ’26
Julian Bonasera ’26
Hayden Devorsetz ’24
Miguel Garcia ’26
Hannah Soifersmith ’27
Chase Sukow ’27

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