WHAM High School Musicians Group was started as a way for young people to perform live amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The student-run group is led by Carmel High School junior Brayden Meng.
“Brayden said he wished he could perform in front of a live audience because he missed the recitals because of COVID,” said Tina Tian, his mother. “He kept writing music, but he hadn’t been able to perform it.”
Tian said she talked to a friend, and they agreed the neighborhood needed to be cheered up because of the pandemic, so the students gave a live show.
“Some people needed to hear it and some people needed to present the music,” Tian said. “Now, they are excited to perform for live audiences. They are having fun creating music.”
WHAM, which stands for We Have All Music, was formed in September 2021. It performed during the Carmel International Arts Festival.
“I play some pop music and also do classical music,” Meng said. “WHAM doesn’t have a set genre we play. We have diverse genres and instruments. We really just have all music, which is what our name means.
“The purpose is to provide performance opportunities for high school musicians to give back.”
Twenty WHAM members attend CHS. Meng said on average, six to seven performers per show. He said the group formed by word of mouth through friends.
Meng, who plays piano, violin, flute and guitar, is in the CHS orchestra, performs in the Symphony and Camerata groups.
“For people that are passionate about it and do extra practicing, we look for venues to show that off,” Meng said. “When restaurants ask to perform, it also helps out their business.”
Group members to meet and speak with violinist Damien Escobar before his Dec. 16 show at the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts.
“We each got to talk to him, and he wants to collaborate with us,” Meng said. “We brought our instruments and showed him a bit of what we do.”
The group’s official account on Instagram is: WHA.Music. For more, contact Tina Tian, outreach committee and manager, at [email protected].
