MBMS students sing to the rafters
Photos by Kevin Cody
Manhattan Beach Middle School music director Denise Haslop said she knew her school’s new 5,000 square foot music building had proved its $4.1 million value when a student said to her, “Ms. Haslop, I can hear myself.”
Performances Monday afternoon by the MBMS choir, the MBMS String Ensemble, and a flute duet by students Charlotte King and Iggy Im proved the student’s point. Haslop attributed the sound clarity in part to the building’s unusually high 14-foot ceilings.
There was a somber moment during the otherwise, celebratory afternoon. Prior to the performances, a plaque was unveiled in front of the building, in memory of former special education teacher Sandy Casey. Casey was one of 58 people killed by a gunman with an automatic rifle at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. The plaque was unveiled by Casey’s former fiance, Chris Willemse, and Robinson School teacher Debbie Dreiling, who attended the festival with Casey.