June 1, 2005
Concert honors lost lives at WSH
Proceeds from concert featuring nod and George Benson will benefit new memorial garden at WSH
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Adrian Morris and Christan DeWitt - gone but not forgotten.
Determined to preserve the memory of and honor the two Traverse City West High School students killed in a car accident last August, the senior class is hosting a memorial concert Saturday evening at the school.
Proceeds from the event will benefit a memorial garden at the school plus a scholarship in honor of the girls. The details of the scholarship have yet to be worked out with the families, said Nick Pilarski, president of the senior class and a key organizer of the evening.
For him, the concert is personal as well as a benefit for the school and the community.
"I played with Adrian, I knew her really well, had played with her in band since junior high," said Pilarski, a percussionist like Morris. "We've always been playing concerts together and it was pretty tragic."
The memorial concert will feature Jeff Haas, nod and George Benson, providing a vibe that Haas called "funkatronica meets R&B."
Haas connected with Pilarski two years ago when the then sophomore was one of ten high school musicians participating in the 2003 Martin Luther King Project with Haas. They stayed in touch over the years, with Pilarski occasionally playing percussion with Haas. When Pilarski organized the memorial, Haas agreed to play and help raise money in memory of Morris and DeWitt.
"In today's society we are always hearing about teenagers who get in trouble or cause trouble in their community," Haas noted. "Nick and his friends are great examples of responsible and compassionate teenagers."
Haas and nod have also penned some new tunes for the benefit and also helped facilitate the joint appearance with Benson. A master sax player, Benson has recorded with noted musicians including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, and the Supremes.
"I also have a 3 1/2 year-old daughter and the tragedy of these young women's deaths really struck me and my colleagues," Hass added of his motivation to participate. "It could have been any of our kids."
The memorial garden represents this year's effort by students in the school's ongoing grounds beautification project. Each year, students work on a new section of the grounds, adding flowers and trees and other landscaping elements. All three classes chip in every year, paying for improvements through a variety of fund-raisers. Some of the proceeds of Saturday's memorial concert will be the senior class contribution.
Student volunteers put in the memorial garden on May 6, the school's annual beautification day, leaving room for future classes to contribute to it.
The garden is situated in a quiet corner in the back of the school. It is dedicated to the memory of Morris, DeWitt and three other students plus one staff member who have died since the school opened in 1998.
Students helped design and create the garden, with guidance from Zimmerman Landscaping, who also helped with the installation. It features flowers, brick walkways, decorative stones, stone benches and a Japanese Maple tree, creating an overall atmosphere that Pilarski terms a Zen Buddhist garden.
"It's great to see the student body giving back to their school, creating long term memories that the students and parents and classes can look at for years and years to come," said Joe Tibaldi, principal at West Senior High. "We've even had a grandmother of one of the girls come to the garden and sit."
"It's kind of like our responsibility to the kids, teaching them to give back to the community," he added.
Tickets for the West Memorial Concert will be sold at the door of the West High School auditorium this Saturday. The show begins at 8 p.m. and tickets will cost $8 for adults and $4 for students with an ID.