Pitter patter, pitter patter… As the raindrops pelted on the tents housing the audience, determined members of the jazz combo stepped onto the stage.

“Before the performance, I had to tune [my bass] to an electric tuner three times. Wood absorbs the moisture in the air, and the bass kind of becomes bigger, which screws up string tuning. I had never really performed in these conditions before, so it was a pretty big worry,” says Brandon T. (9), a bass player in the Jazz combo.

Due to wet weather, the jazz combo members had not expected much of an audience turnout. “Knowing it was raining, we assumed that there would be no audience,” says Alex Tai (11), an alto saxophone player in the combo. “No matter how many people are present listening to you or how bad the weather may be, just keep jazzing!” Similar sentiments were echoed by fellow musicians. “It doesn’t matter, rain or shine,” says Mark C. (12), a fellow saxophone player. “When I perform, I don’t play for the people, but rather for the sake of having fun.”

Undeterred, the jazz band took the stage by storm, pouring heart and soul into their pieces. The finale to the brief but beautiful performance was Shuffletime, a piece that featured Mr Heberer playing alongside with his trombone.  This performance was clearly as special to the audience as it was to the players, as it received warm applause from the crowd despite the dampness of the weather.