Public speaking (and more specifically, performing) is reported to be the most common fear in America. Yet on Friday, April 12, a large group of students went and did just that.

The evening opened with the Women’s Chorus, a class students can take every morning. Fallon Grace, a junior in the chorus, explained that she thought the Evening of the Arts was a great way to showcase everyone’s abilities.

“It’s an awesome opportunity to show Padua and other guests… what they can do,” she said. “Things they’ve learned from chorus but, you know, then they can put it in their own way.”

After performing three songs in the Women’s Chorus, Grace quickly changed and went on again to sing a solo, the song “All I Want” by Kodaline. She admitted it takes quite a lot of nerve to get back up there and sing all alone.

“I was pretty nervous. For one, I wasn’t used to holding a mic, I had a microphone for my solo,” she said. “I’m more of choral singer, so that was pretty nerve-wracking, but I made it through.”

Although many performers such as Grace chose to prepare a vocal performance, a handful of students took a different route. Tess Edwards performed a piano solo that she composed herself, which she called “Klaus.”

“The preparation to play it was pretty extensive. When I decided to audition for Evening of the Arts, I was still playing around with the song and hadn’t even completed the finalized version of it until the night before the audition,” Edwards said. “After that, it was just about practicing the finished product over and over again to make it as smooth as possible.”

Similarly to Grace, Edwards spoke of her intense nerves before her performance, although she tries her best to “just sink into the music.” For her though, the anxiety is worth it.

“I love being able to present a finished piece to an audience,” she said. “It’s a testament of weeks, sometimes months of hard work and dedication in order to make something beautiful to share with other people.”

Both performers stressed that their motivation for performing comes from a love for their art. Grace explained that it’s a way to “show a little part of [herself]” when she shares her music with the world. Edwards echoed this sentiment.

“To me, art makes life worth living and gives the things around us more important meaning,” she said. “When I write music, it’s another way to communicate my feelings and emotions in a way that can resonate with all other people, regardless of their language or origin. Music is a universal language that provides a beautiful way of communication when words fail.”