During the newly implemented Power Hour, which provides a late 9:30 AM school-day start for upper school students, many choose to catch up on their sleep. Others study or meet with teachers, while some opt to participate in organized on-campus activities, such as set building or fishing.

However, a quick glance in room A119 during Power Hour highlights a different group of students: musicians. Rather, the students who choose to arrive at 8 am, just for the sake of music. Here, you’ll find musicians rehearsing various pieces for events and concerts, either as a large, unified chamber ensemble, or in smaller subunits.

Mr. Mayo’s music room has long been the home of many musicians, especially those devoted to their instruments. Though the CDS Chamber Ensemble is a relatively new group that has only been formed for a couple of months. When asked about his thoughts on the Ensemble, Mr. Mayo said “After so many years of building the program, from when we started with just one class with nine or ten people, and to have gone through the six or seven year process of developing a string orchestra and class, and a guitar class, and a band class, and now having lots of upperclassmen in the program, I think it’s really exciting. We finally have an ensemble where we have musicians who want to do more than just have a musical experience and play, where they can really go for it and be challenged by the music. I think it’s a really important part of any music program, and I’m really excited that it’s finally happened and that we have Power Hour as a designated rehearsal space.”

Students are excited about the CDS Chamber Ensemble as well. Grace T., a sophomore and pianist, says “I find it enjoyable, and the pieces we are playing are a good amount of challenging but I still enjoy playing it. I like the pieces and think they’re fun!”. To echo these thoughts, Dylan S., a junior and percussionist, says “I’m pretty excited since I can play different music and cool pieces”.

The music scene at CDS is certainly thriving!