5th Annual Tower Rock
Mr. Ufkin, Seth Kirkpatrick, and Ryan Downey closed the show.
December 5, 2019
The John Adams Tower held its fifth annual “Tower Rock” show on Thursday, November 21st. A variety of acts took the stage, ranging from renditions of classical piano pieces to electric guitar solos. Jonathon Zapf, senior, and Sam Stanton, junior, served as the emcees of the show, and provided a comical transition between each performance. Stanton described the experience, “ Hosting Tower Rock was a blast, not only because of how great the performances were, but also for seeing my own classmates were taking charge in putting the event together.”
After featuring a number of talented Adams students, the Tower announced the groups and individual performers that had received the most votes of the night. Three were tied for third place. Aya Ertimi urged the audience to not only listen to her wonderful voice, but focus on the message of the lyrics, Riley Morgan shredded the electric guitar, and friends of Isabella Ernsberger waived their phone flashlights in the air as she sang her heart out. She recalled, “I had friends come out and support me, and they absolutely made my night.” Ernsberger described the experience as “magical.”
Max and the Sax and the Horses in the Back, an ensemble made up of Seth Kirkpatrk on the saxophone, Max McCoy on the drums, Roy Bualuan on the piano, Cameron Dobbins on the bass, and Mitchell Caponigro and Jonah Gezelter on the trumpet, won second place. This group’s performance was largely improvised, but sounded somehow chaotically cohesive nonetheless. Kirkpatrick revealed, “playing with Max is one of my favorite things to do. If you ever find someone like that, you know you have a strong relationship.”
David Smith, one of the most well known musical performers at Adams, took home the first place prize of bragging rights. Before singing two soulful and flawlessly executed pieces, Smith announced that he was dedicated his performance to a friend who unfortunately could not make the show. Smith called Tower Rock, “a dream come true, except, in this situation, I’m not in front of Stevie Wonder.”
The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy each and every act, and proud parents as well as supportive friends were beaming throughout the auditorium. Réka Blakemore stated, “It was a lot of fun to see all my friends in their element, doing what they love. We have a very talented student body.”
