Flume Ensemble Performs Concert for Asian Hate Crime Awareness

Musical performances had rarely occurred on campus this year- that is, until a crowd gathered around Mow Plaza on Friday, April 23, to hear Flume Ensemble perform. Flume is a group of talented student musicians from all grade levels who play pieces to support charitable and social causes. In response to the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States, Flume collaborated with Riverdale’s Asian American Alliance (AAA) and Riverdale Takes Action to hold the Concert for Asian Hate Crime Awareness. 

The Flume Ensemble performs in Mow Plaza on Friday, April 23.

Members of Flume played three pieces. Their first piece was Michael Jackson’s “Heal The World.” The piece, according to junior Henri Yoon, one of Flume’s leaders, emphasizes “the importance of acting for the betterment of all.” The second piece was “You Will Never Walk Alone,” which was composed in 1945 for the musical Carousel. For Yoon, the “you” in the title represents a victim of a hate crime, sending the message that “we have your back.” Their final piece was the “Cinema Paradiso Theme,” which was dedicated to Dr. Pablo Martinez, who passed away the week of the concert. The movie that contains the piece Cinema Paradiso includes themes of mentorship and strong bonds, ideas that describe Dr. Martinez’s impact as a member of the Riverdale community. 

The concert was not only a response to crimes against Asian Americans but also a response to the silence surrounding them. “We found issue with the fact that nobody talked about it until March of this year… We should be raising our voices and speaking out against these things even if it may seem against the flow to do so,” said Yoon. 

As the organizers combined music with activism to spread their message, they faced several challenges. “Creative and structural differences were a huge challenge to overcome, but we got through it, luckily,” said Yoon. “The night before we spent four hours just completely rewriting and editing the script and we got it to a place where all six of us [leaders of Flume, AAA, and Riverdale Takes Action] were all very satisfied with the end result,” he said. Senior Ishikaa Kothari, a leader of Riverdale Takes Action, also agreed that there were challenges. “What we had to do was cut some parts of our speech because we just had a lot to say,” she explained. There were also emotional challenges that came with the event. Kothari viewed the speeches as a way to process recent events, saying, “there was so much trauma and violence in just [that] one week that impacted various communities.” 

Their hard work paid off, providing Riverdale with its first in-person musical performance since 2020. As a cellist, Yoon was glad to finally perform for his fellow students and teachers, explaining that “it felt good to play for people again, to have a live reaction to your effort.” Yoon noted he was surprised by the number of people at the event. “That spoke to us more than the pieces could, just how many people showed up and how many people genuinely care,” he said. Others share this sentiment. Sophomore Alden Eberts, who attended the concert, agreed, asserting, “it was nice because you could actually see the people playing in person, which was new, rather than just watching videos over Zoom.”                 

Once Flume finished their pieces, Kothari gave a speech encouraging people to take action. She explained, “raising awareness and having discussions is merely the bare minimum, and what we need is continuous action...We need action that is intersectional.” Kothari acknowledged the LGBTQ+ Day of Silence, as well as the deaths of Daunte Wright and Ma’Khia Bryant. Though the event was centered around the Asian American community, Kothari argues, “a loss in one particular community is a loss for every single marginalized community.” The concert concluded with a moment of silence, after Kothari reminded the crowd that “real progress requires us to transform our awareness into action.”

Please check out the Riverdale Review website to watch a recording of Flume’s concert.

Riverdale Takes Action’s “Resource Guide to Combat Hate Crimes Against the AAPI Community” can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g7KCq7yagj1Pz2dAyTXXMEjabXNgmoc25bfJMrG43Ao/edit