Even though Quarry Lane is a primarily academic school, it has a very powerful artistic side to it. That comes in the form of the two art events we have – the Winter Arts Festival and the Art Stroll.
The Art Stroll is probably the most festive event at Quarry Lane. It’s an opportunity for everyone stressed out about finals and other exams to let loose, have fun, and just enjoy being with their friends or seeing their work being displayed either as artwork and writing on the walls, or onstage as our various performing acts.
For many years, the Art Stroll has been on campus. There were many different stages for these events – some were held in the villa, others (like Skarizon’s first show) in the parking lot area, and the rest outside the foyer (jazz band, rock band, etc.) I had tons of fun watching lots of different performances everywhere and going from place to place (even if it involved running or carrying heavy objects).
Now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all events are, of course, cancelled. However, we weren’t going to let the festivities die so quickly. Dr. Liddell, the organizer (and savior) of the Art Stroll, got the event to a virtual stage. We were all going to work from the comfort of our own homes to make something presentable. In my case, it was working with Skarizon to make a video for a song (that didn’t happen because we had way too many complications; we just showed an older video). Rock band also ran into complications; they also posted older videos. The Jazz ensembles and theater groups did individual submissions – each person did his or her own submission.
The event started during enrichment time on Friday. We all gathered around a zoom call to watch the festivities.
Dr. Liddell kicked off the event by introducing it and saying a few words about everything that happened. Afterwards, we got the rare privilege of seeing the Teachers’ Band perform again! They used to be active (I saw them in 9th grade back when Mr. Bonfanti was present on guitar), but for about two years they couldn’t meet for practices for some unknown reasons. However, it was awesome seeing their return during the Tri-M benefit show!
For the Virtual Art Stroll, the Teacher Band made their own video featuring teachers like Mr. and Mrs. Z, Ms. Hoskere, and many other people! It was a really hilarious, exciting, and fun video to watch – everyone was having such a fun time in it. For the event, Mr. Smith couldn’t make it. Mr. Scuderi, the Lower School music teacher, played bass and even sung some killer lead vocals for the song they played – “Jungle Boogie” by Kool and the Gang.
One of the biggest highlights of that video was getting to see Mr. McCullough do an insane solo with a GoPro attached to the neck of his guitar! It was neat and really artistically done! Sadly, this is his last year at Quarry Lane. It was great getting to see him end it with a bang, but we’re all going to miss him so much.
Overall, the Virtual Art Stroll was a great substitute for the real event. It was nice to get into breakout rooms and socialize with people, even if it was just with a few people that I knew. I loved getting to see all our work on display and getting to enjoy it with others. I truly look forward to the days when we’re back to live shows; the Art Stroll will have truly returned with newly-found glory.
The Roar 