Leah Cohen walks into the Choir Room, and the crowd goes wild. Behind me, I hear shouts from one of her enthusiastic friends, "Yeah, Leah! Go girl! I see you too Lohman, I see you honey-comb!"
She starts out with a slow, soulful song, accompanied by Mr. Lohman on the piano.
This year Cohen studied in the Voice III class and, in this particular music course, the end of the year brings a voice recital for each of it's students.
The first song ends, and we have to clamp our hands to our sides so we don't clap; applause is only allowed every two songs.
Cohen's pieces seem to revolve around the themes of transitions and leaving home. It is fitting, because this is her senior year.
Her next song, a little more up-beat, described the changing seasons from Autumn to Winter, the frost that covers the harvest, and the fish frozen in icy streams.
When this piece ends, the tension finally breaks as the crowd breaks into an overwhelming applause.
Afterwards, two of Cohen's friends step down from the bleachers where her peers and family sit. Martha Pappas and Kelley Huang each accompany her on piano: Huang in "Breathe", from In the Heights, and Pappas in "On My Own", from Les Miserables.
In addition to these, Cohen performed three other songs, two in Italian (one of them made famous by Luciano Pavorati), and a chart-topping hit by Fleetwood Mac.
At the end of the last song, her friends an family, including her parents and grandparents, rise for a standing ovation. Her friends run up to hug her and wish her congratulations, some eyes are streaming tears.
Leah Cohen gave a special thanks to her parents, brothers, friends, Lohman and her other two accompanists.
"To everyone else," she says, "Thank you for coming to hear me sing."