Laughter is a universal noise that unites us all, forming communities and memories. It is quite the joyous noise to hear, and that can be applied in our symphony orchestra, where laughter is an important part of daily classroom life.

“Being able to joke and laugh around with different people is definitely a positive of being in this orchestra,” said Laura Hinojosa, senior. “It gets chaotic way too quickly, but that kind of energy helps me to relax and fully enjoy myself.” 

The orchestra has many inside jokes, ranging from a chord from a funk band played on repeat, to the family lunches they hold together, to class interviews of the students that spiral into madness quicker than you can blink. The ability to create these moments easily has allowed many of the students to feel like they belong in the room with each other.

“I remember my class interview, when my friend asked me to do an impression of Mr. Chester,” said Tyler Kristan, junior. “He has this signature smirk he does, so I pulled my mask down and smirked at him. He responded with, ‘you think that’s cute, don’t you?’ and the class was laughing so hard. It was really funny.” 

It’s safe to say that Mr. Chester has contributed to the effort of making his classes more fun and livelier, with his ability to make his students laugh while managing to teach them important lessons. Most notably, though, the class recalls his efforts with helping the class to bond together.

“I really enjoy all the moments where he had us bond together,” said Alexandra Robledo, junior. “We played games together before Christmas break, had lunches together inside and outside, and going off on random tangents in class. He managed to create these spaces for these memories, and I’m thankful we have that as a class.” 

As the orchestra begins preparations for their spring concert, the memories will certainly not be stopping, with the orchestra high in spirits from their last concert. The joint concert with Eisenhower middle school was a success, with gorgeous music played and a corny skit that had the class roaring. 

“I’m proud of how we improved this last concert,” said Samrita Vinu, senior. “We did so well, and it was made better by the botched skit that Nick Sears gave at the beginning of the program. It was so bad that even Chester was embarrassed by Nick not following the script. It’s going to happen again at the next concert, so it’ll be another thing to think of fondly when the time comes.”