Each year, North High hosts a celebration of the school’s exceptional Fine and Performing Arts Program in a festival known as “Artfest.” Between May 15 and 24, all were invited to gaze in awe at the display of students’ projects from Advanced Placement and Advanced Art, Architecture, Digital Design, Digital Photography, Fashion, Sculpture and Ceramics, and Studio Art. Art from all levels of experience was on display, and some prolific artists even had entire portfolios of their work held in separate sections. After a long year of learning, everything paid off for these young artists when many students and their families came to view the artwork, leaving many gracious compliments. The concerto concert was another great feature of Artfest, featuring a number of North’s prized orchestral soloists. For those hearing the term for the rst time, a concerto is de ned as a largescale musical composition for a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra. Soloists in the concert on May 15 were all seniors: the most experienced and thus most qualified. Musical periods ranged from the J. S. Bach, father of the Baroque period to Claude Debussy, a more modern French impressionist composer. Some concertos were striking and ashy, others were more aimed towards sentimentality. Some soloists were so impressive that they sounded like professional performers. A few days later came the main Artfest concert – which featured the chorus, symphonic band, and symphony orchestra. The concert was comprised of all-American music, and featured some of the most significant works to be produced here in the U.S. The chorus began with a number of show tunes, including a few from the famous musical West Side Story. One particularly colorful performance was of “Gee, Officer Krupke,” where gang members jokingly plead with a policemen and complained to him about how troubled their lives were. The band played a number of works, particularly a lot of jazz by composers such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Elington. During Louis Armstrong’s “Hello Dolly”