On Feb. 21, the Upper School Fine Arts Board hosted a coffeehouse event in the Dance Choral Hall.
The coffeehouse is a seasonal gathering featuring Greenhill students performing various fine arts pieces. This February’s edition showcased Valentine’s Day themed performances.
“February is always sort of an in-between show because our October one is our first one and then there’s February, then ISAS, and the outdoor quad one in May,” senior co-chair Jnana Velamuri said.
The organizers of the coffeehouse were Velamuri and senior Shreya Ram. In addition, the faculty sponsor is the Head of Fine Arts, Terry Martin. Performing Arts Building Manager Leann Burns, Choral Music Teacher Lucik Aprahamian and Fine Arts Office Coordinator Maxey Goold helped students out with technical aspects of the event as well.
The purpose of the event was to create an opportunity for students engaged in fine arts to showcase their talents to the community.
“We had a lot of great performances,” Velamuri said. “Our February shows typically star our staple performers.”
This season’s coffeehouse solely featured musical performances. Seniors Ashlynn Bigby, Nate Rutledge and Alex Peplinski performed an instrumental piece. Junior Austin Cohen played a piano piece, and the show was concluded with juniors Pranav Sreenivas and Ali Agha who performed “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars.
“I felt the most appropriate path to achieve self-actualization was to perform in front of a body of people,” Cohen said. “[That] enabled me to hone my skills and become acclimated to playing the piano in a public setting.”
Cohen says he learned a lot from the opportunity but is also grateful for the chance to celebrate his peers.
“My favorite part of the coffeehouse was that it served as a welcome opportunity to experience my tremendously talented peer group perform in a public space,” Cohen said.
There will be another coffee house organized by the Fine Arts Board later this school year, and it will feature more performances to conclude a year of fine arts events.
“I think the fine arts coffeehouse is a great idea and I am excited to attend the next one,” freshman Sam Schultz said.
