The One Note Stand, stands up for memorial endowment

By EMILY HANSON

The One Note Stand held their spring concert last Saturday, April 3, in memorial of Robert (Bob) Ericson, who suddenly passed away this past April.

The a cappella group has been fundraising with a goal of $25,000 to go toward an endowment in Ericson’s name. Fundraising began after news of his death last year.

The group gave itself five years to raise the $25,000 in order to have the Robert Ericson Environmental Research Endowment become a reality.

With motivation and support from the community, efforts by ONS, the UMW rowing team, various student groups and the Ericson family are on track of possibly raising the full amount in a little over a year. A generous donation of $5,000 toward the cause came from an anonymous Fredericksburg community member.

As recently as last November, the group was at just $7,000 raised. Since then, the organization raised $14,000, and the fund is currently at $23,500 with $1,500 left to go.

“The Throwback Show” featured plenty of photos of young members in the group and a video montage to introduce the concert theme by having members share stories from their childhood.

This year, the group wanted to diverge from creative concert themes of past in order to have a more relatable theme that could incorporate moments from Ericson’s life.

Junior computer science major Maddy Ernesto attended the event “to support Bob’s scholarship fund.”

Members of the university community and Ericson’s loved ones came out to support ONS and participate in the fundraising efforts. ONS t-shirts and CDs were sold, with all money raised going toward the endowment.

In accordance with the theme of throwback, a video played at intermission with images of a young Ericson.

During the intermission, the Ericsons and family friends, the Frazzas, spoke about some of their favorite moments with Bob. They shared cute stories to help lighten the mood, but there was still a sense of silent reflection in the room as members of the community remembered the loss.

The music played a prominent role in the show, and ONS impressed with their fun choice in songs, a palpable on-stage chemistry and stellar senior solos.

“My favorite was the song ‘Home.’ They did a very great job on it,” said Ernesto.

The song “Hallelujah,” performed by both members and former members of ONS, stood out as a beautiful piece in context to the memorial concert, showcasing the strength of the relationships between ONS members.

“The concert was super fun. I’m really glad I came out to support the group, ” said junior psychology major Sarah Etherton, a member of Symphonics.