After a week of amazing guest speakers, empowering workshops and fun activities, we ended Pride Week with a Greenwood Mic. Students and staff dressed in rainbow colours and our Diversity Committee packed the gym full of colour.
Our comedic hosts, Gabe Browning Rodriguez ‘20 and Cole Perelmuter ‘19, did a great job at running the show. They first introduced Angela Yang ‘21, who gave a beautiful performance on the piano. She played “Street Where the Wind Resides” by Yukiko Isomura and was
accompanied by an “Erhu Cover” by YungAn. An ‘Erhu’ is a Chinese two-stringed musical instrument held in the lap and played with a bow. The symbolism in this song draws a connection between the piano and the erhu. They are intertwined, confide in each other, love each other but never overlap, like two lovers who can never be together.
Following Angela, Chiara Fleming ‘23and Bella Melardi ‘23 each recited an original poem. They both talked about the struggles of finding yourself and the importance of being true to who you are.
Next up we had Cole Perelmuter, who performed an original song called “Time’s Killing Me”. “I have been writing music for about four years and have immense pride in my songs. I’ve never performed an original song at a Greenwood Mic before this so it was nerve-racking, but a rewarding experience to show something I’m so proud of,” said Cole. Venturing even further and challenging himself, Cole gave an incredible performance and we can’t wait to hear more in original pieces in the future.
Colette Pitts ‘22 was up next and blew the audience away with her incredible cover of “What Did I Have That I don’t Have” by Barbra Streisand. Barbra is highly beloved in the LGBTQ+ community for her advocacy on equal rights and has written many songs that incorporate Pride into the theme.
Last, but certainly not least, Mr. Wright’s Grade 10/11 Vocal class performed “Bird Song” by Wailin' Jennys. The lyrics of this song are all about being free and open to everything. The group of singers were accompanied by Mr. Wright on the piano and gave a wonderful performance.
All of our performers did an incredible job and really brought a strong sense of Pride to their performance. Even though Pride Week activities are over, Greenwood will continue to strive to be a positive, safe and inclusive space.