The audience hushed as the soft strumming of a guitar filled the cafeteria. Then, a quiet but clear voice sang an emotional rendition of “Grenade” by Bruno Mars. The cheers that followed reflected the supportive and empowering atmosphere at SCHS’s annual Night of Acoustics, held on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Over 80 audience members gathered to enjoy songs, music and spoken word poetry.

Sophomore Jema Ranoy attended Night of Acoustics for the first time this year. She said the event was “full of talent” and appreciated it’s theme: collaboration.

“As you get into high school, it’s really hard to collaborate with people,” Ranoy said. “I think it’s a good idea to have it in a musical form.”

In observance with the theme, most performances were groups of two or more. Junior Samantha Hamilton said that one of her favorite performances was a mashup of Taylor Swift songs by Biology teacher Mary Haddad and her husband.

“I didn’t know that she could sing,” Hamilton said. “It’s kind of cool when you see your teachers do something else rather than teaching.”

Night of Acoustics allowed students to express themselves, but for senior Journey Johnson, the event was also an opportunity to practice performing.

“I’m planning to be a music major,” Johnson said. “I think that it’s important to get more experience performing in front of other people.”

This year, some annual school events, such as Lip Sync and the Sadie’s dance, have been removed or replaced. Hamilton believes that Night of Acoustics has remained because an event that allows students to share their talent is a necessity.

“It’s kind of like a talent show. I feel like that’s a fundamental that schools need in order to be creative,” Hamilton said.

Ranoy credits the unifying and powerful environment with making Night of Acoustics a popular event.

“It [Night of Acoustics] leaves people with something to remember,” Ranoy said. “You can see the courage in other people to get up on stage and perform.”

Though the spotlight can be anxiety-inducing, senior Mudassir Chowdhury, the event’s emcee, urges all students who have a musical talent to perform at Night of Acoustics in the future.

“Don’t be nervous because once you are up on the stage, everything goes away,” Chowdhury said.