The Lancer

The Lancer

The Lancer

New MegaMind TV and Movie Sequel Release
New MegaMind TV and Movie Sequel Release
Joseph Goodnight, Opinion Editor • February 20, 2024

In March of this year, Dreamworks is set to release a Peacock exclusive TV show and movie sequel to the beloved 2010 MegaMind movie. The trailer...

In Fastbreak Fashion
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • February 14, 2024

Lancers lead the way in the second half. The Great Oak Wolfpack came into Thousand Oaks Tuesday night for the CIF quarterfinals and with them...

Perserving in Penalty’s
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • February 14, 2024

The Lady Lancers traveled to a neutral site in Anaheim to take on the Katella Knights in the second round of the CIF-SS girls soccer playoffs....

Kanye - He's Back at it...or Maybe Not?
Elijah Brown, The Lancer Staff • February 14, 2024

Kanye West's new album “Vultures 1”, many nationwide were skeptical at first about Kanye's new album considering the controversies he has...

It’s Valentine’s, Baby
It’s Valentine’s, Baby
Momo Sonoda, Editor-In-Chief • February 14, 2024

St. Valentine’s Day commemorates the death of St. Valentine, but for others, the holiday marks a day of birth. Junior Chokee Weezer was born...

Health Science Majors Program hosts their senior showcase
Momo Sonoda, Editor-In-Chief • February 12, 2024

Last week, the seniors in Health Science Majors hosted a showcase, featuring various professions that they hope to pursue in the future. At the...

Advancing Again
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • February 12, 2024

The Lancers left campus during lunch to travel to Temecula for their round two playoff game, and the ride wasn’t enough to stop the Lancers....

Double-Double Galore
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • February 12, 2024

The Lancers once again came out of a playoff game as a victor, behind a powerful Trent Maclean performance nonetheless. Maclean powered his way...

Avid Attack
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • February 9, 2024

A massive performance from standout freshman led the way for the Lancers at Ventura College, freshman Maddie Linville started the game off strong...

Advancing at last!
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • February 8, 2024

Fast start, with no slowing down, your Lancers took down the Chaffey Tigers 3-1. A very early goal from junior attacker Gabriel Torreblanca gave...

Elias Chin ready to take a shot
Onto the Next
Jake Bradley, Sports Editor • February 8, 2024

Advancing at last!  Despite a close score after each of the first two quarters, stars Elias Chin and Trent Maclean were able to help the Lancers...

Valentines Day grams for your special someone -- or not
Valentine's Day grams for your special someone -- or not
Gabriella Muller, The Lancer Staff • February 8, 2024

With Valentine's day approaching quickly, the student store is crowded with students buying Valentine's Grams for people they know -- and those...

Sephora Takeover
Sephora Takeover
Gabriella Muller, The Lancer Staff • February 8, 2024

With the rise of popular skincare brands coming from Tiktok, Sephora is seeing a rise in sales but a massive drop in age. “10-13 year old kids...

Point Counterpoint: The Super Debate
Point Counterpoint: The Super Debate
Kevin Starr and Christian-Isaiah AguilarFebruary 8, 2024

Two The Lancer columnists -- Kevin Starr and Christian-Isaiah Aguilar -- have strong opinions about the upcoming Super Bowl. Here, they square...

on the bottom is real animal based leather, while on the top is “vegan” leather, or “pleather”
Vegan Leather is Worse for the Environment than Real Leather
Joseph Goodnight, Opinion Editor • February 8, 2024

Throughout the the past 20 years the interest in sustainability and ethicality has risen immensely, especially in regards to fashion, as the...

From the Dust

From+the+Dust

Last summer, junior Jackson Waters went to the Oregon Bach Festival Composer Symposium at the University of Oregon, a program usually reserved for college level composers. However, Waters was the exception. After a summer of working among college students, Wyant Morton, conductor of Arete Vocal Ensemble and long-time family friend of Waters, found out that he as a highschooler got into the program and asked Jackson to write something for Arete.

Waters, a member of TOHS band, got into composing at a young age.

“I started fooling around on trumpet and piano and writing melodies, and I just really enjoyed it. I didn’t think too much of it,” Waters said. “My first piece was in honor of my sister’s friend who committed suicide a few years back, and my freshman year the TOHS band premiered it. That’s when I really wanted to start composing.”

Because he needed to write a choral piece for Arete, Waters knew he would need lyrics, which he had no experience writing, so he turned to sophomore Madeline Biggs for help.

“I used to write a lot when I was little… As I grew up I didn’t tell anyone that I liked to write because I thought it was stupid but I would do it anyway because I couldn’t stop myself,” Biggs said.

While Biggs has had the tendency to gravitate toward essay writing, her recent collaboration with Waters inspired her to delve into poetry.

“It’s a nice way of expressing yourself when music isn’t the biggest thing in your life,” Biggs said.

The piece draws inspiration from the destruction the Woolsey fire brought. Biggs started writing once the fires started to calm down, but she needed a title. The first thing that came to Waters’ mind was “Dust.”

“Immediately my mind went to the fires and what had just happened in our community,” Biggs said.

The piece is four stanzas long with the first two focusing on the destruction and mourning the losses the fires brought. The second two stanzas, however, focus on rebuilding.

“One person stands up and they turn around and help the next person stand up, and finally everyone that is left behind is healing,” Biggs said. “Sure, we did lose a lot, but … everyone needs to believe in each other in order to heal fully and now the hills are green and people are building houses again. It’s really inspiring to see that what I wrote about is what I can see in our community now.”

The first time Waters heard his piece come to life from paper was at a rehearsal with the ensemble.

“When I was going to the rehearsal I was incredibly nervous because I wasn’t sure how it was going to sound, and I didn’t know much about the ensemble. Once I heard them play the first couple of notes I just relaxed, and then I got really happy. I actually could not stop smiling; it was really cool,” Waters said.

However, Biggs did not hear it until Sunday’s performance.

“It was insane. I didn’t know what I was supposed to expect. I knew it would be good because [Waters] is a good composer, but I never expected it to be as intense as it was,” Biggs said.

In musical terms, the first half of the piece is in D-minor while the second half in in F major to represent the change in tone.

“Everything is becoming good again and I really wanted to implement that thought into the music” Waters said.

Both Waters and Biggs agree that the process of creating Dust was intense but well worth the outcome.

“Writing,” Waters said, “It doesn’t come quickly.”

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