Youth concert benefits UNICEF

The refrains of Beethoven's "Fourth Symphony" rang across the halls of the Manhattan Arts Center last Friday evening as the community center played host to a charity concert organized by various Manhattan youth in order to raise money to fight poverty. The proceeds were donated to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

The effort was put together by several local area youth who used music to raise money and bring people together. After the initial melody concluded, the remainder of the concert was conducted by an assortment of high school-aged performers. The main show began with a performance by the Manhattan High School Blue Notes, who played instrumental adaptations of jazz classics, including "Time After Time" and "White Heat."

The ensemble played a half set consisting of three full-length songs featuring heavily improvisational solo pieces from guitar, saxophone, trumpet and piano. The Manhattan High School jazz ensemble then ceded the floor to a jazz trio composed of three of their key soloists, who played a rendition of the 1932 Louis Armstrong hit, "All of Me."

The UNICEF charity benefit concert was not entirely filled by the MHS jazz band, however. Following the Blue Notes' performance, Darin Brunsen, student teacher and graduate student in theatre, took the stage to share both his unique brand of music and his own personal message with the audience.

"It is pretty amazing how generous people are, when they know their effort is going to a good cause," Brunsen said before beginning his set. "I borrowed this guitar from my good buddy, and this amplifier from a kindly young man in the Manhattan High Jazz Ensemble. It just goes to show that people are capable of amazing things."

Brunsen's music consisted of religious music that he explained came from his own interpretation of religion. After the performance, he said that he was overwhelmed by the turnout at the charity concert.

"It is amazing what people can accomplish even at such a young age. It really sends a message that we are all capable of making a difference in the community if we are just willing to try," Brunsen said.

Once Brunsen's set came to an end, the stage opened up to some of Manhattan's young musical talent. Dominating the floor was a young pop/rock group that identified themselves as the Tritones. As the name implies, the three-membered group consisted of three local musicians, Christopher Davis, Kylie Trace and Brady Hendricks.

Each member contributed their own unique style to the music played, and through the course of the set, the members rotated instruments and roles as the songs dictated. Toward the end of the set, however, Davis admitted that the band had faced difficulty preparing for the show.

"Kylie got very sick earlier this week and wasn't able to finish preparing the set," he said. "I guess that just makes us the Bi-tones now."

The rest of the concert consisted of a solo vocal performance by young talent Amber Eisele, Manhattan resident, who performed her own interpretation of several popular songs to round out the night. When asked why she picked this concert to perform, she responded that she knew it was now or never.

"This is just a really good cause," Eisele explained. "How could I not try to help however I could?"

Once the event concluded, Erwin Chege, one of the event coordinators, admitted that he was very happy with the night's turnout. It was, in fact, more than he had expected given the rather rushed circumstances surrounding the event. Chege was quick to add that the event was not only a chance to flaunt one's musical abilities, but a rare opportunity to give back to the community.

In his own words, it was a great way to "have fun, be smart and go a little crazy."