The fourth annual Prism Concert kicked off on April 9, in the historical Estherwood Mansion on campus. The theme for this year’s concert was “Bolero” and it showcased a style of music and dance that originated in eighteenth-century Spain. The concert featured three ensembles, the middle school orchestra, the string ensemble and the chamber music class. A total of 27 students performed for Masters students, faculty and parents to enjoy.

Junior Gretta Hong participated in the concert as a part of the chamber music class, playing the violoncello. She enjoyed participating in the concert saying, “Performing was really great, and I love working with my friends. Everyone was just really focused on this one goal of giving a great performance.”

Although the Prism concert is a fairly new yearly event, the concept goes back decades. Curt Ebersole, Upper School Performing Arts Teacher and conductor of the Prism Concert said, “I brought the concept with me from the school where I used to teach in New Jersey. I produced 21 Prism concerts in the valley over the years, starting in the 90s.” He continued,  “When I arrived to Masters here in 2013, I was just so taken with the beauty of the space in Estherwood.” 

And so the Prism Concert was born, and a new Masters tradition was made. But what continues to make this concert different from other Masters concerts was that different ensembles played in different rooms of the concert. Throughout the performance, the audience was encouraged to walk around Estherwood and through the different rooms, all the way to the finale, where all of the instrumental ensembles came together to play in the main hall.

The format of the concert wasn’t always so fluid though and since its first performance, there have been some tweaks to the format. At first, the music ensembles and audiences would stay in the library for the whole performance. But in 2017, Ebersole had the idea to expand the concert. “I got this idea that there are other rooms, so let’s use all the rooms. So I staged some in the library, some in the dining room, and some in the music room.” 

This year’s concert was special because it showcased its first-ever student-composed piece, from senior Juli Korb. Her original piece “Bloom” premiered at the concert and was performed by the string ensemble.