Music students perform concert

The gym lights stayed up and the bleachers were pulled out for Wahkiakum School District's 2015 Spring Concert, giving the event a different feel this year. Classes waited on each side of the gym with their teachers for their turn to take the stage.

Energy was high and everything was in constant motion. A little girl, unselfconscious, danced alone in front of the bleachers until she was joined by one girl and then another, until they were called away, leaving her to once again dance alone. Parents, impatient and tired, filed out with their young children as the evening wore on and eventually, only half the crowd remained.

The event began with classes from kindergarten to third grade singing two songs each. Some young students were quietly animated, moving to the music, and others belted out the songs, much to the audience's delight.

Fourth and fifth graders played recorders, and their music teacher applauded their efforts, especially the fourth graders who had not had much time with the instrument.

Senior Kylee Thomason played a clarinet solo and later Sidney Ashe played a solo on her trumpet.

The sixth grade band played Ode to Joy and the combined seventh and eighth grade band played March to Castle Rock.

There were only three in the high school choir this year and they made the most of it singing three selections, Homeward Bound, The Clouds and Journey's Open Arms.

Finally, the high school band took the stage and played two selections, followed by a performance from the seniors.

The diehards, the audience members who stayed to the end, were blessed by an outpouring of love from the senior class to their teacher, Mead, who had seen them through many of the trials and joys of their teen years.

"I couldn't have made it through Running Start without her," Ashe said, breaking down.

"She helped me figure out what I want to do," Ethan Cothren said, proudly.

"She provided a safe place when there was no where else," Thomason said.

In a show of emotion, the seniors pulled Mead into a group hug.

Mead worried later that the event had been too long.

For some in the audience, it was just right.