Get ready to rock out

As the month of May winds down, the upand-coming creative minds of this Valley will be making a statement.

Just like a season in a year, the semester at Antelope Valley College comes to it’s annual close at the end of May. This will hopefully lead to a summer of personal growth, maybe a bit of enlightenment, for the collective student body. Before that, the musicians of the Commercial Music Department will be ready for their effort to blow the roof off their venues for the evening.

On May 25, two ensemble classes will perform at the campus’s Black Box Theatre (FA2). Beginning Rock Band (BRB) will perform at 3:30 p.m. and Test Flight, the advanced rock band, will be at 7 p.m. These

performance showcase students of all ages and a wide variety of material.

Any style, from contemporary pop tunes to heavy metal classics that will make you want to bang your head, will be showcased.

BRB students usually pick the songs they bring in, while Test Flight will be assigned songs, as per the instructor’s vision. This makes for a great atmosphere where you can discover new music or songs you haven’t heard in years.

Not to be left out, the Stage Voice class will perform May 28, at the Performing Arts Theatre. Similar to the other ensemble classes, this is focused specifically on vocalists with a piano accompaniment. The students also pick their own songs and this usually leads to an even wider variety of music.

The truly great part about these shows is the work. The semester typically begins the first week of February. All of these classes meet once a week and these songs are rehearsed over and over and this is just the time on the books, for the class. That’s not accounting for the practice done outside of school. For a number of the musicians, this will be their first time performing in an environment like this.

Every time I attend one of these, it makes me proud, knowing the effort it has taken to make the show, not just on the performers side, but on the crew’s end, as well. The PA and live sound in BRB and Test Flight is also a showcase for the students who have put in the work to better their craft.

Regardless of relation to anyone in the shows, I implore you to please support the youth. Even though the classes are all ages, the majority of them are energetic, young musicians looking to knock their moment out of the park.

Having the energy of the audience to feed on can make a huge difference. The confidence from having a great night can echo long after their time at AVC has come to a close. Any little bit of “I can do this” helps.

Tickets for the Beginning Rock Band and Test Flight shows are $7 or $10 for both shows. They can be purchased at tickets.avc.edu or at the Performing Arts Theatre box office.

Admission for the Stage Voice recital is free.