On March 18th, 2026, South Brunswick High School hosted its annual Small Ensembles concert. This is an event where twelve small groups of musicians perform songs that they’ve been working on since January. This year, the event was hosted in the blue cafeteria where they sold coffee and baked goods to fundraise for next year’s Disney trip.
This event consisted of five string groups, one flute ensemble, one soprano and alto vocal group, one clarinet ensemble, one tenor and bass vocal group, one saxophone ensemble, a wind quartet—one flute, one clarinet, one trumpet, and one French horn—, and a brass ensemble. The concert opened up with a string group and then went down the list.
Most of the songs that were performed by the groups were recognizable, like Claire De Lune, Interstellar, and From the Start by Laufey. The audience felt very engaged with these songs along with other ballads and upbeat songs.
When asked how the experience felt as an audience member, Sierra Nelson (’27) replies, “Well first of all, it’s very different from a normal concert, but I actually love the vibes and having coffee stuff and just seeing people in the cafeteria. But I just love being able to be here and support my friends. I love, like, watching, like, just my friends, like, something they’ve worked so hard on.”
Rehearsals have been running since early January and lasted until the middle of March. Each group met once a week to put this performance together. A few people in each group took charge and led the rehearsal, trying to piece together songs to deliver a splendid performance at the event.
“Overall, I’m feeling very fulfilled,” says Marjan Malihi (’26), who put together the flute ensemble. “It was a surreal experience, but it was a lot of fun in the end, and I’m happy that it all came together in the last rehearsal.”
All in all, this event was a success once again as many people helped fund next year’s Disney trip by buying coffee and baked goods and the performances managed to keep the audience engaged.
