A slight breeze blows through the campus, rustling blades of grass and shaking the yellow clusters of pollen out of the trees that tower over the now-desolate parking lot.
With the sun setting, the campus is quiet. The noises of traffic seem to intrude on the zen frame.
But emanating from the Decherd Auditorium, quiet notes of music slowly begin to pour over the campus.
First from a cello, then from a viola and finally from a lonesome grand piano, the notes swell, harmonizing into the classical pieces written centuries ago.
It’s taken a year to get here, but the Chamber Music Club is finally performing its first official concert, bringing together Upper School Marksmen in a final end-of-year performance.
For sophomore co-founder Tony Lu, this moment was special. First coming up with the idea for a chamber music club after taking part in a school recital, Lu worked with other students and piano instructor Angela Hendricks to make it a reality, officially founding the club in September 2024.
“We had some great musicians who were really passionate about music, so I had the idea of getting everyone together and doing a big performance,” Lu said. “I started planning and talking to a lot of people who were interested, but we had to cut down from forty people to ten people who were really committed.”
Commitment was never an issue for group members, and the club regularly practiced together before various smaller events, building relationships and preparing members for the final spring concert.
“We perform at coffeehouse, chapel and community service events, so we have a lot of small events,” Lu said. “But we had this idea that it all built up to this concert, so as we got closer to March, we all got together and kept practicing. One group actually had three-hour practice sessions every Sunday across several weekends, and that’s pretty incredible.”
The spring concert was the evening of April 9, and there were multiple performances from each member of the club, and their music filled Decherd Auditorium as students, faculty and family members alike watched.
In the future, Lu hopes to expand the club further than just the school, but he acknowledges the loss of key seniors and the difficulties that will present without their leadership. Still, though, Lu remains determined to continue the club and its performances next year.
“Optimally, we can make this a greater Dallas thing,” Lu said. “We want to bring in students from other schools and do more community performances because I have a lot of friends who want to chamber music, and it’s unfair that only Marksmen can play. It was difficult getting people together, but we did it, and I’m glad it worked out in the end.”