Category: Arts & Culture

Unifying The Arts is a project thought up by Ms. Goyette, the new drama teacher here at Poly. Her plan is to bring together all of the arts programs–choir, orchestra, jazz–and perform a musical. Due to the reconstruction of the auditorium, the musical most likely will not happen until the 2016-2017 school year, but the instrumental and vocal departments are already in the early stages of preparation.
Goyette’s interests in starting this began when she observed the divisions within the Poly arts programs; aware of the untapped potential of unification, she began to plan this massive undertaking upon receiving her new position.
She is certainly the right teacher to ensure that this project is completed. Goyette graduated from University of California, Irvine, with a degree in musical theatre, working as a theater advisor at a performing arts magnet school prior to Poly. In addition, she was also a background performer at Disneyland, acting as Ariel the Mermaid in the daily parades.
For the following year’s musical, Goyette is looking to put on Lynn Ahren’s Once on This Island. The musical is a Caribbean retelling of The Little Mermaid, centered around the romance of Ti Moune and Daniel Beauxhomme. The musical aspect consists of many island beats and Latin melodies, two new areas for the musical department to explore. Furthermore, the story is one rooted in love and friendship, themes guaranteed to attract a diverse audience.
Though the instrumental and vocal departments have already begun rehearsing their parts, this project is not limited to those already involved in the arts; auditions will be open to any Poly student. Goyette hopes this will bring the hidden talents of Poly students to light; she wants to make sure there are no entry barriers, for talent is the decisive factor.
Considering the depth of these departments in past years, the current absence of a program like this is confounding. This can be attributed to one major factor: budgetary restraints. A majority of the department funds goes to purchasing sheet music, so there is not much left for discretionary spending. In order to finance this project, Goyette has started planning fundraisers to raise money for the musical.
Unifying the Arts has the potential to make these departments more familiar to Poly students and faculty. In the near future, the school will have to add a third category to its reputation: artists, for the arts are an under-appreciated but wholly essential component to Poly’s success.

Poly’s Spring Band concert was held at Cal State Long Beach’s Daniel Recital Hall on Tuesday, June 2nd.
The Concert Band performed “Trifolium,” a trumpet trio featuring sophomores Brandon Samuels and Tatiana Tate, and junior Hunter Davis as lead trumpet.
Following Concert Band, Symphonic Winds stunned the audience with two very dramatic moving pieces, the first being Steven Verhelst’s “A Song for Japan.” The song, featuring senior Michael Franco on trombone, serves as a tribute to the victims of the Fukushima earthquake that occurred in Japan in April 2011.
Symphonic Winds ended the night with Daniel Bukvich’s “Symphony No. 1,” a four movement commemoration of the victims of the firebombing of Dresden, Germany during World War II.
“The piece even included spoken words in German meaning help, fire, smoke, and firestorm,” said junior flutist Jonathan Rodriguez.
The piece moved the audience, leaving them in fascination and in awe.
“The piece ended with me playing a low note with inflections to imitate a sob. That was the last piece of the concert and it left such a powerful impact on the audience that there wasn’t any applause until the conductor left the stage,” said Rodriguez.
Overall, the band members were very pleased with their last concert of the school year.
“There was a full crowd, the bands played really well, the musical selection was very good, and the bands had a lot of support and love for the graduating seniors,” said Davis.

Poly seniors took to the Longfellow Elementary School stage for the KeysTone Piano Quartet senior recital on Friday, June 5th.
This was the last time the advanced pianists would play as Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits. The quartet is made up of seniors Mayvera Doaran, Phoebe Hao, Jasmine Kay, and Damian Nguyen.
Junior pianist Tre’von Robinson said he was “excited to see all the seniors perform so exceptionally after all their hard work in the classroom.”
The hour long recital featured the entire advanced piano class and four solos, two duets, and four quartets. The quartets included the Scot Joplin Rag Rhapsody, Champagne Toccata, and the Moldau.
For senior Phoebe Hao, ten years of practice and performing paid off, as she played throughout the entire recital, including a Debussy piece.
Hao ended up enjoying “every performance of the recital,” and was excited that her years of practice did allow her to achieve perfection on Friday night.
As an encore, the quartet premiered Damian Nguyen’s arrangement of Rhapsody of Blue for melodica and six hands
“It was an honor and a privilege to be part of the quartet, especially since this was my first year in Poly’s piano program, and I am so proud that we are the first at Poly to have a piano quartet recital separate from the annual recitals that the piano classes have,” said Nguyen.i

On Thursday, May 21, the Spring Vocal Concert was held at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University in Long Beach.
The concert began at 6:30 p.m. and featured the Chorale, Cecilian, Chamber, Jazz I, and Jazz II singers. Past alumni singers also joined in at the end of a beautiful concert.
The night started off with Chorale performing “Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “Kyrie,” and “Dead Men’s Bones.” Both Sabrina Thiem and Thomas Fleming gave beautiful solos during “Kyrie.” Their music had soulful undertones with classic folk songs that brought life to the hall.
The concert then moved on to Cecilian singers, who sang “Down at the River to Pray,” and “Until We Meet Again,” and “L.O.V.E.”
After that Chamber Choir gave beautiful renditions of “All I Ask of You,” “Venez et Chantez les Louanges,” “Snami Bog,” and “Tanzen und Springen (Gagliarda).” These songs brought the music of many different cultures to the stage, including French, German, and Russian.
Jazz II then took the stage with “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” “Unforgettable,” and “Moonglow.” During “Dream a Little Dream of Me” Nina Hodjat gave an angelic solo, and Mia Grayson and Dylan Stump also had lovely solos during “Unforgettable.”
Finally, Jazz I performed “Joy,” and “Come Sunday,” with almost every esteemed member giving a solo performance at some point.
The night closed with Chamber Choir and Alumni singing “And So It Goes,” with Matt Oca’s touching solo highlighting the song.
The last concert of the year sent many senior singers home with fond memories of their time in Poly’s music department.

Feeling like a mad scientist’s ethereal fever dream, the Museum of Jurassic Technology is one of the most wonderfully weird places in Los Angeles.
There, inside of an understated little building, lies one of the strangest collections of curiosities and oddities in all of California.
The exhibits bear no singular category. In one room, microscopic painting made from butterfly wings fill case after case. In another, a series of superstitions are displayed alongside artifacts important to such beliefs, like a baby’s tooth or a vial of urine. And in another, miniature trailer parks line an ominously dark room.
However, the last room is by far the most memorable. Immediately preceded by a room of astronaut dog portraits and a movie beyond all description is a very simple space containing three things: tea, a couple a of chairs, and the sweetest puppy man shall ever pet.
Within all the things this museum presents, the most prominent are its questions: What is this? Is it a social experiment? An elaborate piece of performance art? Just one big joke? Hours of exploration, copious notes, and excessive patience could begin to answer these questions.
However, if you’re simply interested in an absurd evening of pure mystery, there is no other place to go but the Museum of Jurassic Technology.

Lions, tigers and bears. Oh my! This was my first time at a school-produced play. I went to go to see the play in its closing weekend with my best friend.
We sat down and opened our programs, realizing two things: that this play would be long and that it would involve a lot of singing. Suffice to say, we were extremely unprepared for what was to come. But, hey, you can’t blame us—we were only going for extra credit. However, much to our surprise, we ended up thoroughly enjoying this student production led by Kathy Hubbard.
In case you have been living under a rock, The Wizard of Oz is the story of a Kansas girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto, both of whom have been swept off to the Land of Oz by way of tornado. To find her way home, Dorothy, along with the help of the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Man, follows the Yellow Brick Road to meet with the Wizard and defeat the Wicked Witch of the West.
The play started about ten minutes after we arrived. The first person out was Dorothy, played by senior Jasmine Sim, followed by her loyal companion Toto, played by an adorable St. Bernadid fifth grader, Alessandra Rubalcava. I have to give props to Sim for being able to keep that classic wispy, airy, yet mildly annoying voice while taking on the role of Dorothy.
Right after this first scene, we were introduced to all of the main characters. There was senior Gaby Rubalcava, who took on the roles of Miss Gultch and the Wicked Witch of the West. Even though she had more stage time as the Wicked Witch, I felt that this performance was much stronger. Next came Aunt Em, played by senior Emma Gressett, who also played Glinda The Good Witch. Personally, I felt that she was one of the best performances of the night, largely because of how natural and effortless her acting was.
We then saw Dorothy’s fellow companions in Oz: Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow, played by Patrice Berry, Donte Owens and Donge Tucker, respectively. As a group, I believe they worked well and played off each other beautifully. Individually, every single one of them embodied their character perfectly. But I have to say, the superstar was definitely Tucker as the Scarecrow. His performance was a perfect mix of over-the-top theatrics and believable acting.
As for the music and choreography of the play, the actors were accompanied by a small group of musicians from Poly’s own musical program, and the singing and dancing were not outstanding, but they were not half bad. I must admit that the whole shebang was actually very enjoyable. There was a total of twelve musical numbers, including the “Jitterbug,” a deleted scene from the original film.
The sets and props were fairly simple. There was nothing too fancy, just the typical high school sets (and not the ones in High School Musical, I can assure you) with hand-painted backgrounds of trees, walls, and a disappointing Emerald City, that did not bear any resemblance to emeralds in any way. You would expect some bedazzles somewhere, right? As for the costumes, props to all the costume designers, for all the costumes were great, fun, and playful, adding another dimension to the play.
There was a quick intermission between the acts, where I had a disappointing donut and my friend and I raved about how Toto looked exactly like Vivi-Anne from Dance Moms. Fifteen minutes later we were seated again and were transported back into Oz for the fantastic ending which features the Wizard himself. Adan Gonzales’ performance, of the Wizard and Professor Marvel, was one of the most enjoyable. He was funny, and his body language and eccentric behavior made for some wonderful acting.
Overall, I think this play deserves a solid 4/5 stars. I can’t even imagine the amount of effort that goes into these productions, and I highly admire the dedication of the whole cast.

A variety of Poly’s student ensembles attended the Millikan Band and Orchestra Festival on March 17^th and 18^th and delighted the judges with outstanding performances including classic orchestral repertoire and modern compositions.

A wide range of pieces were performed by Poly’s musical groups at Festival, including Holsts’ “Mars” and “Venus” from The Planets and “Blue Shades” by Frank Tichelli

Middle and high school bands and orchestras from across Southern California performed in front of a panel of three judges who evaluated the quality of their performance based on tone, pitch, overall musicality, etc. The groups then received their final scores, ranging from poor to superior, superior being the highest score a group can receive. Post-performance, the orchestras were tested on their sight-reading skills, and the bands experienced a valuable clinic from one of the judges in their panel.

For further improvements, recordings of comments from all three judges were provided and used to tweak the bands’ and orchestras’ performances.

“Festival allows us to develop ourselves both individually and as an ensemble with the help of professional advice from three well-practiced professional musicians,” said Jeffrey Lam, concertmaster of Chamber Orchestra.

Overall, the Poly orchestras and bands performed strongly. Full Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and Symphonic Winds received unanimous ratings of superior. The Symphonic String Orchestra and Concert Band received overall grades of excellent.

“They performed very well despite the move to Millikan. I’m very proud,” said music teacher Mr. Osman.

Poly’s annual Scholarship concert will be held at LBCC on the 27th for orchestras and on the 28th for bands, and will feature senior solos from Eddie Oliver, Sihyun Ahn, and Chelsea Cameron.