By Lisa Moore
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Courtyard Sunfest, WHS’s first outdoor music festival, drew a nice crowd and was a shining success, even though grey skies and the cool and damp afternoon made it feel more like September than May. Sunfest was the senior project idea of six WHS seniors. It featured a musical performance by the band Fuller Brook Zoo, with additional performances by WHS a cappella group InChordination and The WHS Jazz Combo.
Ms. Lynne Novogroski, assistant Principal of Bradford House explained the parameters of this longstanding tradition for WHS seniors.
“Senior Project started over twenty years ago as a way to counteract ‘senioritis’ and keep seniors engaged in school.” This voluntary, student-initiated project starts when a senior submits a proposal in February and presents his or her proposal before a committee of teachers and administrators. The project, if approved, requires a faculty or onsite advisor that can provide support for the students, and must have a community service component. Many students choose an internship as their senior project, with nearly two thirds of all senior project students interning as TA’s at the elementary and middle schools. Other students choose to pursue a passion, like writing, photography or other creative projects.
For Scott Johnson, Anand Ghorpadey, Liam Skelly, Evan Egger, Sam Marram, and Ari Natansohn, combining their passion for music and an opportunity to give back to POPS, an organization that has supported their performing arts endeavors during their time at WHS, seemed like the perfect fit for their senior project. The group raised $1,000 in proceeds from Courtyard Sunfest, which was donated to POPS in the hopes that the organization will be able to continue supporting other student performing arts projects.
The six young men are part of a band called Fuller Brook Zoo, a group they formed in the spring of their sophomore year with fellow seniors Jeffrey Pinsker-Smith, Cypress Smith, Cam Field, and junior Emma Downie. The band has performed a mix of classic rock, Motown, funk and soul, along with some original songs. They have performed at TCAN, The Center for Arts in Natick, The Middle East Corner, The Lower Level, the Can Tab Lounge in Cambridge, and at many private parties. Their first single, “Mysterious Woods,” was released last week on Spotify, Sound Cloud, Apple Music, iTunes and Bandcamp music sites as a prelude to the release of their debut album, still to be named, coming out at the end of May.
Sunfest was an opportunity for the band to show the WHS community what they have been up to. As part of the community service piece of their senior project, band members wrote a song about unity and togetherness called “Together,” and went to Hunnewell Elementary School to teach a music seminar to the fifth grade class. The seniors spoke about their band, and the dynamics of being in a band. They taught the fifth grade class the song “Together,” and performed it with them at a school assembly.
Scott Johnson, who attended Hunnewell Elementary School, felt as if he had come full circle and hoped to pass on his love of music to the fifth graders. “I have learned a lot performing. Not just about stage presence, but other things that apply to other areas of my life.”
Anand Ghorpadey spoke of the Fuller Brook Zoo band as a family; with nine of the members graduating and going off to various post-secondary school endeavors, the fate of the band is up in the air. “We have a number of performances coming up and hope to be able to get together over school breaks and the summers.” When asked about his experience with the Fuller Brook Zoo and the Courtyard Sunfest, Ghorpadey said, “It is very validating that people like our music,” and organizing Sunfest and their senior project was “a lot of work, but super worth it.”
The band wanted to acknowledge all of the individuals that helped them complete their senior project, including the Johnson’s for providing practice space, the senior project committee for approving their project, Mr. Steve Scott, their faculty advisor, Darlene Howland and Patty Ayer of POPS for their support, and Brian McManimon and the WHS Tech crew for providing stage, lighting and sound support.
Fuller Brook Zoo’s next gig is on June 15 at the Can Tab lounge at 10:00 p.m. The show is 21 and over. To follow Fuller Brook Zoo, friend them on Facebook and Instagram @FullerBrookZoo.
