A Longstanding Campus Tradition

Each year, the club Goldfish n’ Java hosts one of George School’s most anticipated music events: Live Music Weekend. The tradition centers on two performance nights held in Marshall Woodfloor on Friday and Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m., where students and members of the George School community take the stage to perform.

From solo vocal performances to music in a band, the event offers a space where musicians of different styles and experiences can share their passion with the community.

“I think it’s become a huge tradition,” club leader Ava Quinby ’28 said. “People get really hyped for Live Music Weekend, so I wanted to make it as big as possible so that everybody could enjoy it.” 

Indeed, for many students, the weekend is not only about music but also about gathering together as a community.

Behind the Scenes: Organizing the Event

Organizing a big event such as Live Music Weekend requires weeks of preparation, especially with all the music instruments, lights, stage, and audio devices that are needed to create the best audience experience.

Organizing a big event such as Live Music Weekend requires weeks of preparation, especially with all the music instruments, lights, stage, and audio devices that are needed to create the best audience experience.

This year, however, the Goldfish n’ Java team faced several other challenges. Ava explained that securing funding and coordinating with school staff proved to be one of the most difficult parts of the process. 

Weather also complicated the preparation process. A snowstorm delayed the arrival of the stage equipment, leaving the organizers with less time to set everything up before the performances began. “Since it’s a fairly small club, we also needed to recruit a lot of people to help.” Ava added. 

Despite these challenges, all of the leaders believe their efforts were super rewarding, especially when the first performance night began and a large audience filled the Marshall wood floor.

“Last year was really cool too, but this year there were definitely more people who showed up, even just to watch and enjoy the event.” Ava said.

Performers Share Their Music Passion

For the performers, Live Music Weekend offers a rare opportunity to share music in front of a live audience, other than performing in assemblies or in ensemble groups. 

“I decided to perform because I’ve always loved performing and sharing music,” Arthur Dao ’26 said, “It’s something I’ve been passionate about for a long time.”

Music is deeply connected to Arthur’s identity. He carefully selected songs that carried personal meaning and fit his vocal style. Some pieces reflected important moments in his life, like the duets with Marienne Lousteau ’26 and with his sister Zoe Dao ’28. 

For Arthur, performing live is not just about singing.

“Performing live means sharing my voice and my love for singing with others, and inspiring them to share their voices too,” he said.

Frank Liang ’28, had a slightly different musical journey leading up to the performance, but he shares the same passion for music, especially guitar. 

“I decided to perform because music is part of my life, and I want to share my passion for music and guitar.” Frank explained, “It’s been two years since my last official band performance, and it’s great to have this opportunity to connect and communicate with talented musicians at GS.”

He performed multiple songs with Ava Quinby ’28 and Washington Yuan ’29, including “Best Part”. 

“It was a spontaneous decision. Ava, Washington, and I were doing a quick jam in the Walton basement, and they decided to include me in the performance.” Together, they turned an informal practice into a live collaboration.

Another piece Frank performed, “(Nice Dream)” by Radiohead, holds special significance for him. 

“I’m heavily influenced by Radiohead and, especially, the guitarist and keyboardist Jonny Greenwood.” He said. “In the song, his signature tone and playing style feel just right and timeless. It’s such a regret that I couldn’t replicate the details.” 

Even so, performing live in front of a large group of audience always comes with pressure. “it’s a challenge because I always want to give my very best to the audience,” Frank explained, “and I learned to accept imperfections and learn from my flaws.”

Nevertheless, it was the imperfection and spontaneity that has always made the live music weekend unique. 

“Every live performance I’ve been involved in marks my growth,” Frank said.

Not only students performed on stage, faculty members also shared their music talents with the community.

Abraham Paik ’21, who is now a substitute teacher here, also joined the performances. A graduate with a degree in music, Abraham regularly participates in open mic events around Newtown, so when he heard about Live Music Weekend, he immediately decided to participate. 

Abraham performed the duet “City of Stars” from La La Land (2016) along with Lily Yang, the Chinese teacher and a dorm parent in West Main. It was a song that allowed him to play the piano—one of his main instruments alongside the guitar. 

“Performing is a lot of fun for me, and I think that’s the most important part.” he said, “It gives me the opportunity to share my talents with others and enjoy music together with a group of people. I also really enjoy listening to and watching other performers, which makes the experience even more exciting.”

A Unique Intermission: Film Meets Live Performance

While the performances were the highlight of the weekend, one memorable moment happened during intermission, when the event unexpectedly turned into a film set.

Students from the film program, working with film teacher Prescott Seraydarian ’90, used the stage and the live audience to film a scene for a comedy project. The plan was to tell the audience as little as possible so that their responses would remain spontaneous. The scene itself involved a dramatic and humorous moment on stage, which then creates confusion and chaos among the audience.

According to Jack Storie ’26, one of the members of the film team, the idea to incorporate Live Music Weekend into the film project was Prescott’s “brain child”.

“He originally wanted to surprise the entire audience and capture their authentic reactions.” Bill Li ’26, actor of the main character, added. 

Because the scene relied on genuine reactions, actors involved felt a significant amount of pressure.

“I was extremely nervous before going on stage,” Bill admitted. “My biggest fear was that the first take wouldn’t go well while the audience still didn’t know about the surprise.”

In the middle of the scene, he encountered an unexpected challenge: he forgot the lyrics he was supposed to sing. “The audience probably thought it was intentional,” said Bill, “but it wasn’t.” Fortunately, he managed to continue the performance smoothly by singing the lyrics as “blablabla”, which achieved the comedic goal and made the audience laugh. 

Members of the film crew were also impressed by how enthusiastically the audience responded.

“The crowd reaction was awesome,” said Jack. “Just how enthusiastic the crowd was the second time, I did not see that coming.”

Despite the fact that some members of the film missed several of Saturday night’s performances due to prepping, the collaboration between the film program and Live Music Weekend created a lot of fun and unique moments that blended music, film, and audience together.

Looking Ahead

After the success of this year’s event, Goldfish n’ Java leaders hope Live Music Weekend will continue to grow in the future.

“I think the event was so exciting this year that more and more people will hear about it,” Ava reflected.

She also hopes the event will help attract new members to Goldfish n’ Java, which currently has only around ten members.

“If anyone reads this article, they should definitely join Goldfish and Java!”——A call from Ava Quinby ’28