Another successful Change Day has been registered in the history book of Andrews University, with lots of projects and many people involved in activities to change the community around the campus. It was a cold day, but the day got warmer as every person helped to make a difference!
Many projects were executed to help people in the short and long term. Amid this, very few people noticed, but music students also got involved in Change Day with a project! Although the participants were mostly string players under the Studio Class of Prof. Carla Trynchuk, all of them together were able to bring color and warmth to the Pine Ridge nursing home.
The participants went to Stevensville, where the nursing home is located, with a program prepared especially for the older people who were there. According to some students, around fifteen residents showed up for the recital. The students performed pieces by Massenet, Bach, Franck, Wienanski, and Pejacivic. Some students played alone, while others were accompanied by piano students and Dr. Kenneth Logan. Additionally, a string quartet performed two pieces by Raff-Pochon and Bizet. For the finale, a concerto was performed, in which part of the public gasped and were amazed to see the talent of the performers. Seeing such a high-quality performance was a fantastic experience for them, bringing brightness to their day.
I would like to highlight a particular occurrence with the piano students who attended the project. Tyler Ninalga (senior, music performance) shared that one of the older people got closer to the piano students and showed them a piece on their phone. It was none other than “Claire de Lune" by Claude Debussy. The elderly lady shared with them that, back when she was young, her mother was making her learn piano, particularly that piece, and that she never did it. The lady then asked if any of the piano students could play it. Tyler offered to play, and although he had not played the piece in a long time, he could read the piece while playing, making this moment one that this lady would never forget.
This is an example of how our talents can change the world if we use them correctly and serve others, as Jesus and other Bible and history characters have. A great shoutout to the leader of the project, Professor Carla Trynchuk, and all of the students who participated in this project: Emi Rus (freshman, music performance, violin), Colin Cha (junior, music performance, cello), Glorie Boljovic (sophomore, music performance, violin), Jesus Parra (junior, music performance, viola), Shania Watts (senior, music performance, viola), Zoe Shiu (senior, music performance, violin and psychology), and Mailyn Iribar (sophomore, music performance, violin), along with their piano accompanists: Carlos Lugo (junior, music performance), Eleanor Joyce (senior, music education), Tyler Ninalga (senior, music performance), and Dr. Kenneth Logan. They all demonstrated on Change Day that it is possible to Change the World, one note at a time.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.