Aarna Mishra, Staff Member
My name is Aarna and I am a sophomore. I am very excited to be on staff for the first year! In school, I play tennis, play saxophone for the Marching Wildcats, and I am on the Mock Trial team. I spend my other free time hanging out with my friends and family.
![For the final piece, a combination of Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble played an extravagant song by Paul Hindemist. Flute soloist Dakota Olson had her moment highlighted within this song. “[My solo] was definitely challenging but it was fun too,” Olson said.](https://www.lhsdoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/amy-and-joey-shot-1200x800.jpg)
![On Jan. 19, 2024, the varsity boys basketball team huddles together during a tough game against the Warren Township Blue Devils. This close game, which the Blue Devils narrowly won 77-69, was a result of the hard work and communication between this team. Senior Henry Calsin said that “whether [we’re] up or down in the game, we've gotten a lot better at knowing how to [communicate] in a good and competitive manner.”](https://www.lhsdoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IMG_0154-MConverter.eu-1-1-1-1200x801.png)
![Choir students from, Highland, Rondout and Oak Grove joined the LHS Choirs as they performed their last two songs, “SING” by Pentatonix and “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. The combined ensemble was conducted by Dr. Paul Nielsen, a music educator at the middle school, high school and university level for over 30 years. Dr. Nielsen worked with this combined group during the day, when middle schoolers arrived for the annual festival. “We spent all day trying to get everything to be performance ready for tonight,” Dr. Nielsen said. “First and foremost, [our goal was] to have a whole lot of fun.”](https://www.lhsdoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Mass-Choir-1200x800.jpg)
![The Wind Symphony performs “Hymn for US” in the Highland Park High School Auditorium. James Stephenson, the composer, said, “[Through this piece], I wanted to reflect on the solemn events that took place, but also to express the hope and the strength of the community that was evident to any of those who were watching the news.”](https://www.lhsdoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_7012-1200x823.jpg)
![James Stephenson, composer of “Hymn for US,” thanks everyone and expresses support to the Highland Park community. In an interview, Stephenson explains his composing process for this piece. “[For] us composers, a lot of the music happens in our head before we wrote it. [However], the actual music took about 2 or 3 weeks to write.”](https://www.lhsdoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_6935-1131x1200.jpg)
![Choir teacher Dr. Brown poses with his student-made music stand hall pass. When Dr. Brown needed to create a hall pass, he sought out the opinion of his senior students for ideas. “I think in the whole school [teachers] were all trying to come up with our own bathroom pass scenario,” Dr. Brown said.](https://www.lhsdoi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Mr.-Brown-Hall-Pass-Pose-1200x800.jpg)
