The Village School community was brought together by music and performing arts on September 4, 2025, to celebrate the opening of the new auditorium. This is the first auditorium the school has had. The community was previously using the Black Box for performances. Construction started at the end of the 2024-2025 school year and was completed over the summer.
The opening ceremony consisted of the cutting of a blue and white ribbon emblazoned with The Village School’s logo. Kim Healy, Director of Community Relations, Jeff Bond, Managing Director, and Bill Delbrugge, Head of School, cut the ribbon together. This team’s dedication helped make the auditorium a success. After cutting the ribbon, Delbrugge welcomed everyone to the new auditorium with a speech that highlighted the importance of the arts in education. “To have a truly great education is more than memorisation of facts. It is about developing the whole person, mind, body, and spirit,” Delbrugge said, “Nothing speaks to the heart of education more than the fine arts.”
Following Delbrugge’s speech, there were several performances to celebrate the auditorium. Below is a list of all the performances in respective order.
- Bill Delbrugge – Opening Speech
- Brass Ensemble – FanFare
- String Trio with Yuvi Agarwal – Fee and Oog No.1 In B Minor
- Dance Team – Dance all Night
- Piano solo with Paul Naive – Fantaisie-impromptu in C # minor. Op. 6, Chopin
- Kabir Rai – Impromptu speech
- Andy Wu – Dvorak Cello Concerto
- Tri-m Jazz Combo – Straight no Chaser
- Chords for a Cause – Hotel California
- Bill Delbrugge – Closing speech
- Eddie Wang, Student Government President – Closing speech
The community was also very excited about the new auditorium. “I feel positively about the new auditorium,” senior Kunal Pikle said.
Sophomore Barbara Silva-Bastidas, a member of the Jazz band, shared their perspective and how the new auditorium will be beneficial to the performing arts program. “We are going to have a lot more events held there,” Silva-Bastidas said, “The jazz and concert band are going to be having a lot more plays and showcase what they’ve practiced.”
After the final performances, Delbrugge gave his final remarks. “Here everyone reminds me of one of my heroes, Walt Disney, and Walt Disney once said you could create a design to deal with the most wonderful place in the world,” Delbrugge said, “Music makes a big difference in people’s success.”
Wang, the Student Government President, gave the last speech of the night. “I really look forward to seeing all the amazing musical talent that our students will bring in the future,” Wang said, “It’s something really to be treasured.”
(Edison FLores)
