MSJ Impromptu Inspires Through Music

By Staff Writers Joanne Park & Larry Shi

Throughout the 2020-21 school year, MSJ Impromptu has hosted various online concerts, featuring some of MSJ’s most talented musicians, with the last concert published in the first week of June. 

Last March, all of MSJ Impromptu’s events, mostly held at senior centers, came to a halt after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the months that followed the initial lockdown, MSJ Impromptu President Junior Joshua Shi managed to get into contact with Fremont Hills Assisted Living to plan monthly virtual concerts during the 2020-21 school year. Each concert consisted of student video performances, which included vocals and instruments such as piano, strings, marimba, and more. 

This school year, MSJ Impromptu has published seven virtual concerts online, sending them to Fremont Hills Assisted Living and various other senior centers around the Bay Area. Each video, on average, was around 40 to 60 minutes in length, while Shi estimates that there would be an average of 15 submissions per video. “I still remember how excited [the seniors at Fremont Hills Assisted Living] were when they called back, expressing enjoyment of our concert videos.” Overall, MSJ Impromptu’s music has reached an estimated 20,000 viewers from all over the world, with reach to England, India, and other international countries. 

Next school year, with FUSD creating plans to return to in-person learning, Vice President Junior Riya Bhattacharjee hopes to create a hybrid way of music submissions. “We’ll have an option of in-person concerts, where members will perform at senior centers, but [MSJ Impromptu] will also continue to offer video submissions which were hugely successful this year,” Bhattacharjee said. 

While their musicians range widely from vocalists to marimbists, MSJ Impromptu has one united mission: to create and inspire through the power of music. As the club prepares to transition back into in-person learning next year, it hopes to continue its trend of growth and service to the broader community. 

“Next year, I hope more members within MSJ Impromptu continue to share their musical talents to the entire community,” Shi said.