The holiday season is usually a time of giving. Many find ways to give back to their communities by donating toys to organizations such as Toys for Tots, volunteering at homeless shelters or even giving spare change to the Salvation Army when they walk out of the grocery store. Two Westside seniors, Danielle Nelson and Christine Burlingham, have found a way to give back to their personal community this year in a unique way.

Music Speaks is an event that will be taking place Sunday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. in the Westside High School cafeteria. At the event, there will be multiple musical acts, which will be carried out by performers who have participated in different areas of the music program throughout their high school careers. These performances consist of both a women’s and men’s chambers signers, a chamber orchestra performance and also a jazz combination performance.

While this event will be entertaining and fun for those who attend, its main purpose is to gather donations and give back to the music program which provides positive experiences and life lessons to many. Along with a small concert, which will begin the event for the night and act as entertainment for guests, there will be a dinner, a silent auction and a Miracle Minute where Nelson, Burlingham and volunteers will spend a minute collecting as much money as they can for the music programs.

Nelson and Burlingham decided to dedicate their Marketing Two project and senior project to the music programs. Both Nelson and Burlingham are a part of ATSC and Warrior Choir and were actively involved in both Orchestra and Band in past years.

“We really wanted to give back to the music programs that have really shaped our high school careers and  just made it [high school] a really positive experience,” Burlingham said.

Both Nelson and Burlingham saw the idea of Music Speaks as the best to show parents and students what high schools gain from being involved in music, and also as the easiest way to gain money for the program itself.

While Music Speaks has been the main part of their Marketing Two/Senior Project, Nelson and Burlingham also visited elementary schools to show students how much music can change their lives.  

“Nobody really listens to jazz anymore, or even classical music,” Burlingham said. “Really, all of the music programs are so great for kids’ development, and so that’s why we thought of the elementary aspect, because we can get kids involved in a different type of activity, rather than just sports, and you know, they might really like it more than sports anyway.  It’s still something that you can be really successful in after high school [and] that’s still a really good part of your life.”

All of the proceeds of the event will go directly into the Westside High School music department and the programs that are within that department.

Music Speaks will take place in the Westside High School cafeteria at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15. Tickets will continue to be sold throughout the day at the booth in front of the business office, and will also be sold at the door of the event.  T-shirts will also be available to order or purchase for this event.