Perpich Arts High School Music Department Presents: 24/25 Sound Works III

March 24, 2025

The Music Department of Perpich Arts High School presented the third concert of the year on Thursday, March 20th with a repeat performance on Friday, March 21st. The concert was a culmination of the work created by students in their small ensembles during the third quarter – both covers of songs and original works created within each ensemble. Congratulations to all the music students and their instructors on an incredible performance!

Kevin Werner Hohlstein, Music Instructor, was really impressed with the students. “The music department has managed to do it again: put together a really thoughtful evening of music, filled with originals, reimagined pieces, and amazing covers,” he said. “The seven ensembles for Quarter 3 were tasked with choosing a song to ‘reimagine’ in their own style as a part of their set, and each group found their unique voice that served their ensemble. It was a great evening of music created by incredible young musical artists.”

Mie Morimoto (Music 2026) agreed, sharing that the concert nights are always the best nights of her life. “Before I came to this school, I went to see Sound Works II in 2023. I was so mesmerized by the performance that it made me say ‘I want to go to this school’. The music department is always so enthusiastic about the concerts and students of other departments get really excited about them. People have described this concert to me as ‘majestic’. We made people so happy. One of my friends told me that people weren’t able to get the smile off their faces.”

Mie’s ensemble, Kokoro, wrote an original piece based on a concept that Mie suggested. Writing the song, which focused on the experience of feeling overwhelmed, coincided with a time of mental health concern for Mie. “I ended up pouring my soul into the song,” she said. Mie was also the vocalist for the piece. “I felt like I finally got to truly express myself as an artist and as a musician during this quarter. The lyrics of the original are also bilingual in my languages of English and Japanese. Perpich gave me the place and opportunity to truly express myself in ways I didn’t think would be possible.”