CMR is a school full of passionate performers who rarely get to showcase their talent for the student body. Junior Alyssa McClain was an audience member at an annual assembly that changes that.

“I think it’s a good thing,” McClain said. “We hear our band, choir and orchestra play when most students don’t go to their actual concerts.”

The annual Performing Arts Assembly took place May 1 in the Bill Will auditorium. The show displayed the talents of Chanteur choir, Russell Ayres, Symphonic Band, the drama department, Chamber orchestra, and the Russtones, all of which McClain said she enjoyed.

 “I really enjoyed the electric violin and the performance by the jazz band and Libby Carlson’s solo,” she said. “We got to see our [drama] seniors perform for one of the last times.”

After she watched her fellow classmates perform, McClain said she was inspired by how talented they were.

“I really do wish I could sing and play all of those instruments,” she said. “This assembly just makes me jealous of those people.”

Journalism teacher Beth Britton agrees that it’s important for the student body to see these performances.

“I think it’s a good way for [the students] to practice audience etiquette,” Britton said. “They get to see how passionate and talented their peers are and make them want to join.”

Britton, who advises the CMR journalism classes, says it’s a good way to see her students in a different light.

“It’s nice to see your students successful in another arena,” she said.

While this show is an annual occurrence, Britton said she is taken aback by the talent of the student body every time she sees them perform.

“I really am always amazed,” she said.