Hadley taught herself the trumpet around three years ago and recently joined the jazz band as a college freshman. It has quickly become one of her favorite courses at Bates. This concert will be the first jazz concert she will perform in since the start of the pandemic. Here, Hadley details the 24 hours of her life before her concert, beginning on the evening of April 10.

7:30 p.m. – I am sitting on top of a cabinet drawer to get a bit of rest at work while bussing and cleaning tables. I am currently working at the Longhorn in Auburn and the dinner rush is busywork. 

8:30 p.m. – Much against my hopes, a table of five walks in 1.5 hours before we close. I will not be getting out early. The repetitive country songs play as I continue to clean tables.

10:10 p.m. – I finally get out of work, securing six loaves of bread to take back. I stop at Walmart and get butter and spreadable cheese.

11:00 p.m. – I get a parking spot far away from my dorm and bring the bread to my friends who are still awake (this checks out: they’re STEM majors, mostly). I heat up pizza rolls in a microwave for my dinner.

12:00 a.m. – I complete my 200-day Duolingo streak, then start to read for a little bit.

3:30 a.m. – I head to bed after doing a little bit of homework for the next day.

8:00 a.m. – I wake up and lay in bed until 9:00 when I get out of bed for my American Religious History class. Today we discuss JFK, watch his speech and read the law that includes the word “God” in the Pledge of Allegiance.

11:00 a.m. – I am done with classes for the day, so I get a quick lunch and wander around campus to enjoy the weather.

12:00 p.m. – I return to my dorm and paint until I realize it is time to walk over to Olin for our final rehearsal.

4:30 p.m. – We run through the music that we will be performing one last time and everyone sounds great! We’re performing classics such as “Blues in Hoss Flat,” “Blue Five Jive,” “Flight of the Foo Bird,” “Salt Peanuts” and “She Walks this Earth.” “Jazz Police” is my personal favorite and it sounds so good in our last rehearsal. The combo is amazing!

6:15 p.m. – After getting concert attire on, we eat dinner in Commons with our director, Professor Williams, and the entire band.

7:15 p.m. – Call time in the green room! We taught our band leader how to take a .5 selfie.

7:30 p.m.- Showtime!