Pop! The room drops from bright white to dimly lit. Ceiling lights shut off one by one as several sparks fall to the ground. The chatter of the class falls to a hush. Students in first hour symphonic orchestra class stare at the ceiling confused.
According to orchestra director Victoria Voumard, although there’s been ceiling tile issues in the past, lighting has never been a problem in the orchestra room.
“Before they replaced the roof of the high school last year, the ceiling was leaking and the orchestra closet became a rainforest during heavy rains,” she said. “This was the first time lighting was ever an issue.”
On Friday, the lights started flickering and a slight popping sound could be heard from the electrical wires, according to junior Katelyn Long. Sparks fell to the ground and the lights started shutting off row by row until only half were left.
“We were in class like normal and then the room went dim,” junior Elise Larrew said. “It was kind of creepy.”
Orchestra students were evacuated and had rehearsal in the band room that day.
“I was at a conference the day it happened, but Ms. Vano was subbing for me Friday,” Mrs. Voumard said. “Since the room wasn’t safe to play in, she had them remove their instruments and perform in the band room for the rest of class.”
The lights have since been fixed by maintenance and exchanged for new ones, Long said.
Aside from the broken lights, the orchestra room has over half of its ceiling tiles missing, which tend to slightly leak on rainy days. Although this may not seem like a big deal, it has led to numerous issues in the orchestra room closet, according to Long.
“The leaky ceiling tiles normally don’t affect class too much because they’re not in the main room, but it does make it difficult during concerts to get to our attire if there has been rain,” she said.
The water in the closet ceiling has formed an accumulation of mold and made the closet unhealthy for students in the past. Last year, students were instructed to take their attire home due to the leakage.
“I remember last year, when the ceiling was really bad, we were told to bring our concert clothes home,” Larrew said. “The water leaking from the ceiling was getting the clothes wet and it wasn’t a good spot for them anymore.”
Since then, aside from minor problems, the ceiling has been primarily fixed and can now store the concert attire, according to Mrs. Voumard.
And despite the leaking ceiling and electrical issues in the room, no instruments were ever harmed.
“Luckily, the instruments stayed out of the way and were never affected,” she said. “Just the uniforms were impacted because of the water issues.”
The orchestra room has dealt with lots of issues over the past year, which now includes sparking lights.
“This was crazy,” Long said. “None of us were expecting the lights to go out so when they did, it was shocking for all of us.”