Frozen Sounds is back at King!

Frozen Sounds is back after a two-year COVID hiatus! This event is set to have King’s very own music classes, dance classes, and improv team performing! The event is also set to showcase the visual arts students’ work, which will be posted around the School. Frozen Sounds is an opportunity for performing arts classes and clubs to showcase their talents and skills to other students, parents, and teachers. The after-school event will be hosted Tuesday, December 6th at 7 pm.  The event is run by Ms. Shaw in collaboration with Ms. Hussey, Mr. Miller-Tait, Mr. Chetwynd, and Mr. Gillies.

As a result of the COVID hiatus, most King students have never experienced all the usual annual events. Arts at King has always been a large part of school culture and King life; though following the shutdown, are students still engaged? Many students may feel disconnected from the arts; which one could argue make King, King. Others feel that the return of the arts is not making much of a difference in their lives as they are not interacting with any performing or visual art classes. There seems to be a solid population of King students that want to attend this seasonal event, but is it enough to keep the arts going?

Here’s what students had to say:

For some students, they feel that there should be a more diverse catalogue of art classes. Matthew Zaluski, a student in Grade 12 says, “I feel fairly connected, or at least feel that I have the ability to be when I’d like to. I’m not in any arts classes this semester or in LAC (Leadership: Arts and Culture), but I still feel pretty connected by being in KVAC (King Visual Arts Council) and being able to experience the art that other students create in the hallway displays or presentations and such. I also appreciate the variety of classes that have many different mediums of art and creation. Tradition fine art or performing arts classes are not really classes I like to participate in, so I like that the School has options like Video Production and Food and Nutrition which are both creation and arts in a sense”.

Other students believe that the removal and subsequent return of the performative arts has not ruined, but rather strengthened their relationship with it. Claire LaLonde, a musical theatre student in Grade 12 says, “I think it’s good to promote the arts opportunities we have at King; however, I feel like it’s not taken as seriously as it should be because of the School’s reputation with the Leadership Program. Also, Ford defunding the arts at public schools also contributes to that. Personally, I am excited since I have been in so many arts related classes and councils that the arts are coming back after COVID because for my whole high-school experience, we got barely anything.”

A few students feel as though not much has changed and they are ready to perform again! Emily Callaghan, a guitar student at King says, “I feel insanely connected to the arts. I’ve been in music classes for my entire school career, so art performances are always something I go to! I only performed at Frozen Sounds in Grade 9 though, so I’m super excited to be attending again!”

Overall, if students seem to be interested in getting involved with the arts, the options seem limited. With the removal and downsizing of many events at King, the interest of events like Frozen Sounds is vital to keep the arts alive. The message here is quite clear: as a King student get involved anywhere within the school’s arts to keep the Frozen Sounds from melting away.