Lights dim, people quiet down, the band starts to play, the curtains open, and the Ambassadors begin to sing “Let’s Groove” as their opener for their final concert on Friday, May 8. The concert was titled “Let’s Groove” and instead of singing songs the entire time, the Ambassadors decided to mix it up and put a spin on the second half of the concert.
 
“The second half of the concert was a medley,” senior Cord Alvarado said. “A medley is essentially where we come up with a story and a script. It’s really short – 40 minutes tops, and so it’s about ten lines of something funny, then we go into a song set. The song sets are just little bits and pieces of famous songs based on what’s happening at the time.”
 
The concert did not only revolve around one theme. There were two seniors that had senior solos, Micali Gadola and Shannon McDunnough. Gadola played the piano and sang Chances by Five For Fighting.
 

 
“I sang ‘Chances’ because I love that song,” Gadola said. “Looking back on my time in Ambassadors, I realized how amazing of an opportunity it was and how much it’s allowed me to grow. I would never have had that experience if I hadn’t taken the chance and auditioned for the group my sophomore year. So I kind of wanted to sing it to encourage people to take chances and do what they want, even if they’re terrified.”
 
McDunnough sang “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with senior Nick Farella playing the acoustic guitar.
 

 
“There are parts of the song that I feel fit really well with my feelings and the place I am in my life right now, but frankly, I just love singing that song,” McDunnough said. “I knew I wanted to go up there and have a laid back performance almost like a coffee shop feel to it because that’s the most enjoyable for me – when I’m comfortable and performing songs that I like to sing. I dedicated it to my family and grandparents who were there. I also wanted to make sure that Nick Farella, my accompanist, was recognized because he’s so incredibly talented and I love performing with him.”
 
After the intermission, the Ambassadors returned on stage, but not to only sing. They also acted out their own medley that senior Colin Hodgkins wrote and was put together earlier in the week.
 

“We did a medley based off of Star Wars,” Alvarado said. “We added a bunch of references so it would be really funny. The guy went around to different planets and these different planets all had a specific music theme that played into the story line.”

Everything was put together by the Ambassadors. They decided all of the costumes, songs, and lines. After practicing it each time at rehearsal, the group was ready to show it to the audience.
 
“We couldn’t think of a plot line for the longest time, then after we got back from our trip, Colin Hodgkin wrote it for us. He casted it and gave us all of our songs then we just worked on it in rehearsal,” Gadola said. “We assembled all our costumes from various places and tried to have them resemble the era or character we were playing.”
 
The Ambassadors wrapped up their finale onstage in their crazy costumes rather than their traditional suits dresses. Even though this concert was the last performance of the year for the underclassmen members, it had a different meaning for the seniors. As the curtain fell and the group started packing up for home, the seniors finally came to the realization that there would be no more performing with the Ambassadors.

Photo by Maddie Roy
“The best part was probably when I was watching from backstage as all my friends showed everyone how amazingly talented they are,” Gadola said. “I also liked the very end when we ran up to the front of the stage and sang the last chord.”