Staff and students gathered together in room 501 to listen to an intimate performance by Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy on Wednesday, August 12. The artist was brought to Redwood as part of the “Bring Joy to Your Workplace” contest won by art teacher Nikki Mortham.
The contest, presented by local radio station Live105, awarded Mortham with the opportunity after she was selected from a random drawing.
About 50 members of Redwood staff and their families attended, as well as a few students who were close with Mortham. The radio station asked for total attendance to remain small to maintain the feel of a private event, according to Mortham.
Mortham felt that the private concert brought her closer to the Redwood community. As a teacher in only her second year at Redwood, this gave her the opportunity to create new friendships with teachers she didn’t know previously.
“The best part of the experience was that I got to share it with everybody here,” Mortham said. “Since that experience, teachers who have never talked to me before are saying hi to me and introducing themselves.”
Junior Talita Stiles, who also attended the event, felt that it established a feeling of closeness among those in attendance.
“It was really sweet. A lot of staff members brought their younger kids,” Stiles said. “It was cool to see them in a different environment.”
Mortham also thought that concert gave the teachers a unique experience to share with their families.
“I think that the teachers who got to share it with their families were really excited too, and were really appreciative,” Mortham said.
According to Mortham, Joy was very accommodating.
“He’s not just a big rockstar showman. He’s just a nice, humble, Australian, gorgeous man,” Mortham said.
Although the teachers, students, and families were not his typical crowd and may not have been familiar with his music, he was a “good sport” to everyone, according to Mortham.
“He laid down on the table to take this one picture, and one of the teachers said to the photographer ‘Can we touch him?’ and [counselor Ian] Scott, said ‘He’s a human, you should ask him if you want to touch him,’” Mortham said.
Room 501 was the perfect setting for the private concert due to its good acoustics, large space, and view of Mt. Tam, according to Mortham. The combination of the location as well as the fact that Joy was performing in a workplace rather than a bigger room such as the gym or Little Theater created a more intimate setting.
Both Mortham and Stiles cited Joy as an inspiration to their art, Mortham as an artist and Stiles as a singer and guitar player.
Mortham said his relatable lyrics make his music fun to play in class, and make people feel good.
“His voice isn’t perfect, but it’s unique, and it matches so well with the songs he writes. So it’s almost like perfection in imperfection,” Mortham said.
Stiles cited a similar idea of being able to relate to Joy’s music.
“When you’re listening to his songs, you feel what he’s feeling. When you’re sad or really happy, he has [a] song that can fit with what you’re feeling,” Stiles said.
