“There is just something so satisfying about hitting the note that you were worried about or really vibing with everyone else on stage,” said Audrey Ammann (‘19), an Oyster River High School student.

    On Thursday, November 2nd at 5:45 PM, Oyster River’s Mouth of the River will be hosting a Coffee House to release the first publication of the 2017-2018 school year. At the event, ORHS students, many of whom are Coffee House veterans, will be providing the entertainment for those who attend.

    Some of the biggest performers, like Nick Ryan (‘18), Jake Weglarz (‘18), Ammann, and Lufty, who is featured in Voice of the River’s episode here, were delighted by the past events, and are looking forward to making another appearance this Thursday.

    Mouth of the River has been putting on Coffee House for five years. It is the main fundraiser for the student publication, and also gives Oyster River students a chance to exhibit their talent to their peers and faculty members. The admission fee of only five dollars allows those in attendance to enjoy: live entertainment, the first Mouth of the River magazine issue, complimentary refreshments, and homemade baked goods.

    The event takes place in the high school’s multipurpose room, which is transformed into what seems like a true coffee house, with both tapestries and white Christmas lights surrounding the stage. These decorations create a calm and relaxing environment for viewers, allowing them to take in the musical talents of Ryan, Weglarz, Ammann, as well as many other students who chose to perform.

    The experience that all three of these Oyster River students possess when it comes to performing in front of crowds has allowed them to be even more prepared for Coffee House.

    Ryan has been performing ever since he was in sixth grade, and just recently starred in the school’s fall play, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Ryan noted that looking back on past experiences, “helps me get over nerves and helps me know how to get the audience interested.”

   Similar to Ryan, Weglarz has a great amount of performing experience. Weglarz first became interested in performing towards the end of his sophomore year and has sung at Coffee House multiple times since then. He mentioned, “past performances give us a chance to reflect what people liked and what they didn’t like. That way we can tune what songs we play so people will stay entertained.”

    Ammann has been entertaining audiences ever since she was in eighth grade and started singing at Coffee House as soon as she entered high school. Since then, Ammann has made several additional appearances at Coffee House. Throughout the years, she has found that, “getting a song together at the very last minute is a terrible idea. It is not fun for the audience if a performer walks onto the stage totally unprepared.”

    With Coffee House coming soon, all three performers have been practicing the songs they have chosen to sing and/or perform.

    Some of the songs Ryan will be performing are “Rocket Man” by Elton John and “Home Sweet Home” by Motley Crue with Weglarz, Jake Kaplan (‘18), Liam Weglarz (‘20) and Colin Flores (‘20). Because Ryan is such a talented musician, he will also be performing with multiple other bands.

    Weglarz will not only be accompanying Ryan, but he is also planning on singing with Ian Miles (‘19), Liam Weglarz and Flores.

    Weglarz mentioned he is content with the songs he and his band have chosen considering, “it is kind of hard to choose songs when you have a whole band you have to accommodate for because everyone wants to perform different songs.”

    On the contrary, Ammann had an easier time deciding upon songs to sing as she and her guitarist, Eli Brandt (‘20), knew exactly what type of music they wanted to perform. Ammann is excited to sing “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and “Upward Over the Mountain” by Iron and Wine at Coffee House.

    The rehearsal process for the event has generated some nerves, however, Ryan, Weglarz, and Ammann all mentioned that as soon as they hit the stage, everything feels natural; the nerves disappear, and excitement is the only feeling that is prevalent.

    Because of the exhilaration the three performers feel on stage, and the enjoyable environment that goes along with it, all of them find themselves wanting to come back and perform at Coffee House time and time again.

     “I’m totally performing in the future. I would do so every quarter until I graduate if I could,” said Ammann.

 

Written by Abby Schmitt