SEE1 rocks the Variety Show

Emily Tyler
November 13, 2013

Andrew Lennor, 11, Mahima Devarajan, 2013 Michael Choi, 11, Konnor Montchai, 2013, and Aaron Pang, 12, performing Requiem(Trans-Siberian Orchestra) at last year’s Variety Show. Although there have major changes to the group’s lineup, it still has its original rock n’ roll style that appeals to listeners of many genres. The group does not get to warm up before the performance, so there is lots of pressure to be perfect before the curtain opens. Photo courtesy of McDaniel’s Photography.
Andrew Leonard, 11, Mahima Devarajan, 2013 Michael Choi, 11, Konnor Montchai, ’13, and Aaron Pang, 12, performing Requiem (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) at last year’s Variety Show. Although there have major changes to the group’s lineup, it still has its original rock n’ roll style that appeals to listeners of many genres. The group does not get to warm up before the performance, so there is lots of pressure to be perfect before the curtain opens. Photo courtesy of McDaniel’s Photography.

When the curtain parted for the opening act in the second half of the evening, eleven students in glamorous get-up strapped into electric instrument and connected to amps stood waiting for the drum beat to drop.

“As the performance went on, it became more about the music than the notes,” said Karin Oh, 12.

Although all the acts in the Variety Show were exceptional, SEE1’s performance of “Crazy Train” (Ozzy Osbourne) was unique. The energy the ensemble played with made the audience roar with applause at the end.

Andrew Leonard, 11, and Michael Choi, 11, both had outstanding solos in the first violin section, as well as an excellent guitar solo from Yusuke Hibino, 11.

“I come from a family of performers, and I don’t get nervous or anxious. Whether it’s theater or violin, it comes right to me. I was born to do this,” Lennor said.

Oh is a new violin player, but she felt the excited energy as much as anyone else.
“It was my first SEE1 gig; I thought it would be really uncomfortable, but it was really cool, because everyone was really hyped up,” Oh said.

Even after the curtain dropped, the audience still felt the adrenaline rippling through them as applause broke out, and the curtain opened for the next act.