THE Marianas High School Rhythm & Harmony Glee Club has once again won the gold rating at the annual Tumon Bay Music Festival on Guam.
“It is an honor to have represented the CNMI — it shows that we are truly a prestigious musical group,” the club’s musical director Mylan Goodwin told Variety in an interview.
Formed in 2010, the group has been participating in the Tumon Bay Music Festival since then and has always been awarded the gold. They’ve also been awarded the Judges’ Choice for high school choral groups six times, and this year were requested to perform in the Command Performance. The Club was the recipient of the prestigious Festival Sweepstakes Award in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
In this year’s festival, which was held in March, the group’s a capella performances of the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory song “Pure Imagination,” and their version of Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” earned them that gold rating.
The club also toured five elementary schools during their stay on Guam and continued their long-standing relationship with Simon Sanchez High School.
During these performances on Guam, they featured the song “Cool Down,” which they personally arranged. “It was not for a competition,” Goodwin said. “It was just a featured performance but it also showed that we are not just a Glee Club that can sing and dance, but we are also capable of arranging musical pieces.” She added, “It is motivating to see each of our members grow. Everyone works hard.”
Rhythm & Harmony, which currently has 15 members, is a student-directed group. Goodwin, as musical director, is assisted by fellow student Deejay Santomin and advisory director Donna Bartolo.
A place for growth
Goodwin said Rhythm & Harmony has not only improved her skills as a musician; it has also helped develop her personality
“When I was a freshman, I definitely did not have the vocal skills that I have now,” she said. “I looked up to the older members who passed on their skills to us. We grow together as a team.”
She expressed her gratitude to their advisor, Harold Easton.
“It is because of his guidance that we are where we are now,” Goodwin said.
For Easton, Rhythm & Harmony is a club full of talented individuals who are capable of great achievements worthy of international recognition. “It’s their hard work,” he said. “I am just here watching them grow, it is their dedication that gets them where they are.”
The Marianas High School Rhythm & Harmony Glee Club at the Tumon Bay Music Festival on Guam in March 2023.
