Practicing her multilingual skills, senior Mirolla Abdelmansih has been rehearsing her singing as she prepares for her first-ever World Music Day.
“I’m excited to do multilingual songs,” said Abdelmasih, who will be performing the Turkish songs “Uslamiyor bu” by Zeynep Bastik and “Derniere danse” by Indila, as well as “Walk Like an Egyptian” by The Bangles with four other girls. “(I’m also excited) to work with different people and positions.”
World Music Day (WMD), being held in the MPR from 7 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 30, is an annual event dedicated to Daniel Pearl, a journalist and musician who was assassinated on February 1, 2002. WMD is celebrated during October, the month of Pearl’s birth. This year’s WMD is taking a different direction from previous years, with no theme, allowing performers to express themselves with whatever music they like.
“There is no theme this year,” music teacher Wes Hambright said. “We decided to just put a bunch of great songs together and not worry about a thing. I think it just happened naturally. There’s no definitive theme. We just let it go organically.”
Having performers pick their own songs without any particular theme has made this year’s WMD songs more diverse. Some songs that will be performed include “Rocket Man” by Elton John and “Bound to You” by Christina Aguilera and several sung in languages that represent the diversity of the students on campus.
“We’ve got some songs in French. We’ve got some songs in Spanish and we’ve got some songs in Turkish, which is pretty cool,” Hambright said.
Performers started rehearsing in late September and through October. They often practice during lunch, after school and during their classes with Hambright.
“Rehearsals have been very good,” said senior Marianna Alvarez, who will be part of the chorus. “We are going to practice the songs ‘Rocket Man,’ ‘When the Party is Over’ and other songs that are very important. They have been very productive.”
