This year, in the graduating class of 2020, there are quite a few musical stars leaving us to pursue greater achievements in college and beyond. Courtney Aicardi, Sarah Ling, and Emily Nelson, talented musicians and singers, are leaving Montrose with fond memories and great ambition. We will miss their beautiful singing and playing even more now that we do not get to say goodbye to them in person.

Sarah Ling ‘20:

First, we have Sarah Ling, who has been a loyal Treblemakers’ member for four years and has played piano at various Montrose events. Her musical journey with the Treblemakers’ started when she auditioned alone as a tiny eighth grader. “I always looked up to the Treblemakers so I knew I had to audition,” said Sarah. In the end, Megan Bellivance ‘18, who was accompanying her in her audition, started having a coughing fit and Sarah kept on singing despite the fit. “So the secret of getting into the Treblemakers is to give your group some coughing potion so you can keep on singing and looking ‘impressive’,” she said humbly, although we all know what an amazing singer she is. She shared a few of her favorite memories with the group: “I loved going to the MET Bar and grill after the Ursuline Jam. I loved seeing two people try to eat an overpriced $12 milkshake. I love laughing about the mistakes or wins at a performance. That is awesome.” The two favorite songs she performed were “Wings” and “Wayfaring Stranger.” “I liked “Wings” because I got really into it. I liked “Wayfaring Stranger” because all I had to do was ‘chick-a-a chick-a-a.’ Wonderful!” 

With all these performances comes experience and learning, too. Sarah said: “I learned that only you control what you want others to think of you. So therefore, it doesn’t matter and just be yourself and have confidence. If you don’t have confidence, even if you sound good you won’t believe it.” When reflecting on what she will miss about Montrose, she said: “I think I took the performances for granted. I’ll miss that Montrose is a friendly environment to any caliber of performance.” She goes on to say how she regretted stressing out too much and not living in the moment and having fun. She explained: “The audience never thinks bad of you at Montrose. And your friends will always cheer you on even if you clearly cannot hit the notes in the song.” 

Next year, Sarah will be at Williams College where she plans on keeping music a part of her life. Although she thinks she may not have the time commitment to juggle both classes and performance, she explained how music acts as a stress reliever for her so it would be great to keep that with her in college. 

She has definitely grown through performing at Montrose for so long and she will be missed for her acapella performances, her backup piano playing, but most of all her funny, loving spirit.

Courtney Aicardi ‘20:

Next, there is the one and only Courtney Aicardy, who is especially known for her amazing riffs in her Treblemakers solos. She has also taken music lessons, done some shows at Montrose, and competed in programs like Access Broadway and The Conservatory for Performing Arts. 

Treblemakers was her home, though, and she grew into the community of music and comradery that she saw at the beginning of her Montrose career. “In sixth grade, music class was just always fun, and we grew up looking up to the Treblemakers and seeing my friends in musicals. It just seemed like a community,” she explained. When asked what her favorite memory of music at Montrose was, she replied that the A capella jams were her favorite, especially this year. She said: “We had more control and it was cool that we could all put input.” She had a hard time naming a favorite song that she sang with the Treblemakers, but she decided on either “A Thousand Years” (especially the descant part), “Wings,” or “River/Believer.”

Heading off to Bryant College, she said that she will miss “seeing my friends shine, like seeing Emily lead in shows. It is so fun to see people kill it.” In college, she plans to continue pursuing music in college, auditioning for the a cape llamas group and the shows as well. I am sure that she will shine at Bryant just like she did at Montrose! We will definitely miss her crazy riffs in her solos, but her big heart will be missed the most.

Emily Nelson ‘20:

Next, there’s Emily Nelson, Montrose’s shining star, both in the shows and a capella. She is an experienced performer who is in two other performing troops other than the Treblemakers and performed in Districts. She reflected on what first got her into music and performing, and she told about her very first performance when she was four years old and she sang with her father on Catholic TV. She has truly come a long way since then.

Emily has had many memorable moments at Montrose and had a hard time deciding which was her favorite. In the end, she decided on “anything the Treblemakers have ever done. Especially jam in my sophomore year. I was just so proud of everyone. I loved the feeling of togetherness that we got to experience with friends and family.” Another memory that she loved was this year’s Mandarin Oriental gig. She said: “This year’s Mandarin Oriental was so fun. For me, Treblemakers is all about the bonding and friendships. My favorite part was the friendships. And at the Mandarin Oriental, we were in a room together for six hours and we got to know each other even better.”

Emily has had many great performances at Montrose, but she said her favorite songs were “Wings,” again (seems popular among the seniors), which she sang with the Treblemakers, and “Rise Up,” which she performed at this year’s gala with Sarah accompanying. For “Wings,” she said:  “I loved that there were four soloists and everyone got to shine.” Like Courtney, she also loved seeing others rock their solos and performances, and she also loved that sense of community. When asked what she will miss the most about singing at Montrose, she said: “The people, number one. They’re what I’m going to miss about school in general, but especially in the musical and theatre apartment, from the Treblemakers to the people in the plays. The feeling of singing and the sound of music is the sound of comradery.”

Heading off to Belmont University, she has big plans for including music in her future. She said: “I’m majoring in music therapy, so I definitely plan on performing in the future. I hope to be a music therapist or use music in a therapeutic, helping way. I would also love to provide music education for those who don’t have access to it.” She also wants to delve into song writing, and she even wants to possibly start a band.

Similar to Sarah on the topic of stress, she gave some advice: “The best thing to do is have a good time because if you’re living in the moment, you can handle whatever is thrown at you.” Emily is such an inspiration and she will be missed.

All three of these ladies have great things in store for them in college, and although we’ll miss them so much, I can’t wait to see what they will become in the years to come.

Elyza Tuan ’23, Clubs & Classes Editor

23etuan@montroseschool.org