HANNAH THOMS

ON A NEW FAMILY & NEW TRADITIONS

Violin case strapped to my back, I pedaled south on Division toward Revelli on the last warm September Sunday of 2017. Although it was my junior year, I felt like a freshman again as I stepped into the hall, greeted by the welcoming sounds of an orchestra warming up. I found my seat and unpacked my violin, following a familiar ritual but surrounded by unfamiliar faces. 

When I left home for college, I couldn't imagine leaving orchestra behind too. I enrolled in the Campus Symphony Orchestra during freshman orientation, and every Wednesday night for two years, I played incredible classical repertoire with talented musicians. But even after two years, CSO felt more like a class than a community. During my CSO audition in the fall of junior year, Rotem suggested that I audition for Pops too. I thought I would give it a shot for one semester. Two years later, I'm glad I joined this community of enthusiastic, talented, and bright musicians. Two Pops traditions, Pops Pals and Pops Cup, welcomed me into the Pops family (read more about these in our section POPS HISTORY).

In early October, Rachel, the social director at the time, assigned each person a group of Pops Pals, matched through a highly scientific Buzzfeed-style quiz. I, along with Kei, Derek, Andrew, Daniella, Camden, and Emily, joined Hannah Lynn's group. Hannah informed us that her groups had won two semesters in a row, so she expected full participation from each of us. After an initial meetup for ice cream at Ben and Jerry's, we ordered lattes at Starbucks, studied together in the Ugli, and shared feta bread at Pizza House. Busy schedules prevented some from making it to every event, but slowly our group of freshmen and grad students, trumpeters and cellists became close. The points we earned at each meetup accumulated and we quickly took the lead. But on the day of the concert, Rachel announced that Ben's group had won, after earning points for hosting Pops events and going on last-minute outings. We were sad to have lost, but I knew I'd found a community.

During the Winter term, each section of the orchestra became a team and competed for the Pops Cup. I was in the first violin section, which met a grand total of two times during the entire semester.  The second violin section took the competition much more seriously and became the Winter 2018 Pops Cup champions.

I joined the second violin section in Fall 2018, the following Pops Cup season. One week before the concert, it didn't seem like the seconds could pull off a second championship title in a row: we were in second-to-last place while the first violins were (fittingly) in first place. Monday night we met for dinner at Chipotle and concocted a scheme. If we met up every twelve hours, we could overtake the first violins and pull off the greatest comeback in Pops Cup history. We met for coffee at Starbucks on State Street Tuesday morning, then studied together in the League late at night. In my favorite meetup of them all, we pulled Dom out of English class for a quick hangout in Mason Hall. That meeting was followed by another Starbucks run and a game night. The first violins caught onto our plan and met up a few times on their own, fueling a petty rivalry. By the time we ordered ramen at Mama Satto before dress rehearsal, we knew that we didn't stand a chance. But we'd had a great run.

After my first rehearsal, I was taken aback by the genuine enthusiasm everyone had for the orchestra. Pops Love? It seemed a little extreme. But through traditions like Pops Pals and Pops Cup, I've come to understand how this group of passionate people from all majors and backgrounds has made this orchestra a home.

Hannah Thoms is currently a senior studying Anthropology with minors in History and Museum Studies. She enjoys baking, running (slowly), and singing along to musical soundtracks on long road trips.

4/1/19