“Coffee House” Continues To Grow For Students At PEN
• Hundreds of Peninsula High students watch fellow students perform on stage at “Coffee House.
”Peninsula High School held its popular Coffee House event Nov. 18, which was hosted by the Associated Student Body.
Held outside on the campus amphitheater Thursday night, students, faculty and families sat on the grass with blankets and snacks to watch the performers on stage.
The event, filled with a variety of singing and instrumental performances, was very successful, with approximately 500 members in attendance. The attendance practically double the amount of people who have attended previous Coffee House events, which can partly be attested to the return of in-person school events after a year of online learning due to the coronavirus.
Additionally, there were 25 performers in total, which is also a larger number than in past years.
The event was put together by ASB’s Commissioner of Sound, Peninsula senior Quinn Massey. With the help of the other commissioner of sound, junior Emily Kallah, he planned the date and time and conducted sign-ups and auditions. Through the sign-up and audition process, any Peninsula High student had the opportunity to present their song of choice.
Once they demonstrated they were well-prepared and capable, they were approved to participate. Massey continued to stay in touch with the students between the tryout and the event itself, sending emails to the performers and coordinating with those who helped transport the instruments and speakers onto the amphitheater.
“I have always enjoyed karaoke nights and a hobby of mine is playing the guitar,” Massey said. “Building off the anticipation from other students as well as my own, I wanted to make [this Coffee House] larger and better than ever.”
Massey also served as the event’s master of ceremonies , introducing each performing act and entertaining the crowd during the in-between moments.
On top of his hosting duties, Massey would stand behind the amphitheater with the upcoming performers during each song to help them through any last minute issues that arise and offer final words of encouragement.
“At one point, I noticed the next performer was clearly nervous,” Massey said. “[I offered some] words of affirmation and helped her get ready for the stage, and she performed exceptionally well. She ended up sending me a thank-you email after, which reaffirmed why my role as commissioner of sound is so fulfilling.”
On top of organizing and hosting the event, Massey also performed alongside senior Angelina Mendoza. As the final act, Massey was able to MC throughout the entire two hours and perform. Mendoza was in the audience up until this point, when she joined him on stage. Together, the two performed the song “Freakin’ Out on the Interstate” by Briston Maroney, with Mendoza singing and Massey playing the guitar. They met up three times and practiced for a couple hours each time to ensure the guitar and vocals aligned, the lyrics and chords were memorized and their performance was completely prepared.
Mendoza is well-acquainted with the music world, as she writes and produces her own music, which is available on Spotify. As she is very fond of singing and performing, she found participating in Coffee House to be a no-brainer, Taking into account that this is her final year in high school, she wanted to make the most of her senior year by participating in school events and sharing her love of music with her school.
“I love singing and it is always good practice to perform in front of a crowd,” Mendoza said. “I find it so cool to hear all the talent [that Peninsula has] that I might not have known about otherwise.”
This fall’s Coffee House was a great success, with a high number of people in attendance and many talented performers enthusiastic about sharing music with their peers. Given that this is a popular event at PVPHS, there will likely be another Coffee House that will take place during the second semester. Mendoza hopes this is the case, as she thoroughly enjoyed attending and performing in this past event.
“I love the setting of Coffee House because it is a chill and welcoming environment that is very comfortable to perform in,” Mendoza said. “I would love to participate in a future Coffee House and plan on doing so.”
