With Toast Ghost, the newly formed musical group consisting of English teachers Matthew Horne, Jonathan Super and Paul Fauteux and the performing arts on the rise, a spotlight has shone on artistry and musical originality.
“The hope would be that it would be used to inspire students that anyone can make music and have fun with it; you don’t need a studio or skill or talent, just the desire to have fun and an idea worth sharing,” Horne said.
Toast Ghost’s work went public earlier this year, with Super composing beats and Horne improvisationally writing lyrics. Fauteux joined the band during the creation of their song “Burnt Toast (get em).”
“We make songs rather quickly in this fashion,” Horne said.
While Toast Ghost approaches music very forwardly, sophomore Nica Albertson publicizes her work in a more subtle, yet effective way. Albertson has been posting videos on YouTube for a year and continues to upload her videos, ranging from covers of popular songs to short-film-type messages.
“Mainly I find myself doing it for others to enjoy,” Albertson said. “I truly enjoy sharing my music with others and hearing what they have to say about it because it’s nice and constructive.”
In terms of expanding her channel and pursuing it full time, Albertson doesn’t want to transform her channel into anything more than a small music project.
“I truthfully wanted to be this famous person, but as I get older I realize I don’t want that,” Albertson said. “I post these videos because it brings me joy and is an outlet for my creativity and love for music.”
Junior Adi Wineland, an avid participant in the choral department, finds comfort in his music and expresses the importance of surrounding himself with a strong group of singers.
“When you are surrounded by so many other amazing people, it’s easy to forget that the only competition is with yourself,” Wineland said. “Improvement doesn’t necessarily happen overnight, but it’s a wonderful feeling when you feel like you did a good job or made someone smile.”
The various methods of expression exemplify that music doesn’t conform to a uniform approach. Musicians and artists have different ideas and content, and everyone expresses their individuality differently.
“We want kids to know that creativity is fun,” Horne said. “Music is fun. Making shirts is fun. Making moves is fun.”