After 18 months, CV High School musicians look ahead to performing together for the community.

By Justin HAGER

The Crescenta Valley Instrumental Music Foundation (CVIM) is excited to announce the return of its annual pops concert on Friday, June 4 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. This will be the first live concert for CVIM in 18 months, after the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and shut down the 2020 pops concert just days before the scheduled performance. Although the pandemic will result in changes to the venue, the concert is sure to fill the valley with the sweet sounds of live music from some of CVHS’s most talented musicians … in fact, they’re counting on it.

Rather than performing in a traditional auditorium where social distancing poses particular challenges this year’s pops concert will be performed outside, on the upper field of CVHS, adjacent to the softball field. The location was specifically selected because it will allow the students to perform together as an ensemble and can accommodate a small live audience of parents and family members (invitation/RSVP only) while providing the greatest acoustic opportunity to hear the music as it echoes across the valley walls.

Jennifer Zimmer, CVIM’s vice president of Performing Groups and the logistical mastermind of the upcoming performance, explained that she hopes this venue will encourage people who might not otherwise be able to attend the concert to come out on their porches and patios or set up chairs on their lawn to listen to the music.

“The kids are thrilled that we have gotten to this point,” she explained. “They have been doing video concerts, performing in isolation, being accompanied by background music for the past 18 months, which is fine, but it is not the same as being able to perform with your bandmates. So while we may not be able to invite the entire community to be in one space together, we hope the residents of Crescenta Valley will join us in celebrating our amazing students and community wherever they can hear the music on the wind.”

When asked if she had any concerns with having an ensemble concert outside after 18 months apart, her response was and emphatic “No!”

“I’m so excited that we’re actually having a concert! We understand that our first live performance back together as an ensemble may look and sound different,” said Zimmer, “but we are embracing the many opportunities and possibilities and celebrating the fact that we are able to have a live concert.”

She also expressed her belief that this experience has helped the students to understand to not take opportunities for granted.

“The kids have really come to appreciate, as musicians, all of the things that go into playing as a group,” she said. “My sons are both in band and they are relishing being able to play with their bandmates once again.”