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Wahoo Middle School attends concert at Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha

Students inspired by 'Black Violin' performance

by WMS 8th grader Sheontee Moize on April 20, 2015

The halls at Wahoo Middle School were quiet on Monday, April 13. All students and staff went to Omaha for a 10:30 a.m. concert by the group Black Violin at the Holland Performing Arts Center.

The lead performers were Wilner "Wil B" Baptiste and Kevin "Kev Marcus" Sylvester. The two met while playing in the high school orchestra in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They were backed by a DJ and a drummer. 

According to their bio on blackviolin.net, Black Violin has played their music "for everybody from the troops in Iraq to both the official President’s Inaugural Ball and the Kids Inaugural in Washington, D.C. The pair also headlined shows at the New Victory Theater on Broadway and wowed audiences at the legendary Harlem Apollo Theatre. They have accompanied Alicia Keys’ performance of 'Karma' at the 2004 Billboard Awards, and appeared with Gym Class Heroes and Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump playing the hit song 'Stereo Hearts' for VH1’s Unplugged."

The Black Violin band members stressed that students should strive to live outside of the box that other people may see them in, and to work hard at being the best at whatever they do.

The band was very interactive with the nearly sold-out crowd of students. They played a variety of songs, ranging from covers of Sam Smith's "Stand With Me" to Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk" to their own hip-hop arrangements. The audience danced with excitement, sang along and even had a chance to ask questions of the performers during the one-hour concert.

After the concert, the staff and students drove to a park in Elkhorn for lunch, before returning to Wahoo Middle School. They enjoyed the sunshine and talked about the concert. It was a wonderful experience.

Below is a sample of Black Violin (performance of "A Flat") [Source: YouTube]