“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are..” I hummed the soprano two harmony on my way to the M&M, nervously paging through my sheet music. I had seen the Treblemakers perform before! I remember that from the second I applied to Montrose, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Now, the only question was, would I even make it past the audition?

My imagination was the catalyst for my nerves. I walked in expecting a scene straight out of Pitch Perfect where I would have to sing my heart out while countless pairs of eyes in the audience scrutinized every wrong note. What actually happened, as you can probably guess, was a completely different story. I was greeted with a warm welcome and given some time to practice with the other singers in my voice part. It was such a relaxed environment that my nerves were calmed almost instantly. There were also plenty of other students that auditioned, all exchanging the same nervous glances as I, and it made me relieved to know I wasn’t alone.

After all was said and done with auditions — and callbacks later that week — I took a deep breath and made my way to the “Performing Arts” bulletin board in the cafeteria to see if I had made it, longing for my own star to wish on at that moment. A flutter of excitement and a sigh of relief—made it.

The first rehearsal was just as lighthearted and enjoyable as the auditions. I walked in to find two of the directors twirling around the M&M while belting out showtunes. I smiled to myself, feeling that this was where I belonged.

Ever since then, the Treblemakers have provided me with an opportunity to make friends—extinguishing my biggest fear as a new student—and to do pretty much my favorite thing in the world: sing. There are some other adjustments to make this year, and we are all learning together—whether it be memorizing sheet music or simply trying to find the rehearsal location on a given day. So far, being in the Treblemakers has been absolutely wonderful and has already become an important and enjoyable part of my upper school experience.