From Romantic era quartets to contemporary vocal solos, Orange County students, including three from Northwood, performed at the Shepherd’s Grove church on Oct. 18 for Smile Train’s annual benefit concert.
The event raised over $23,000 for Smile Train, a nonprofit organization and charity that provides funding to local medical professionals and hospitals for training, equipment and post-surgery care to treat cleft lips and cleft palates—congenital conditions involving splits in the upper lip and the roof of the mouth, respectively. Northwood’s Smile Train Club is one chapter of the Smile Train OC Group.
“For a lot of people, the thing with Smile Train is that it’s a really easy way to use something that we have already known for so long and then use it to help people,” Smile Train Club vice president senior Alice Baik said. “Most of the musicians in Smile Train have been doing music for their whole lives.”
Smile Train OC’s annual benefit concerts began in 2009 with the help of Young Sook Kang, a piano teacher and the current music director. Kang first felt compelled to join Smile Train because of her aunt, whose cleft palate resulted in her social isolation—an experience not uncommon for many born with the condition.
“When I was in elementary school, [my aunt] never smiled, she always hid her mouth and she couldn’t get married later,” Kang said.
While Kang only intended to hold the concert once, Smile Train encouraged her to continue it annually. Smile Train OC was formed that same year to support clubs in high schools across OC and has since grown in exposure, members and donations.
Due to the increased interest in performing, students now audition for and have an interview with Kang in the fall or winter. If selected, students receive group and music assignments within the first few months. Some seniors are allowed solo performances, but all students typically have at least one group performance.
“A lot of it is individual practice because we’re musicians, so it’s better to just work on it alone and then meet up occasionally when we find time,” Baik said.
Students don’t need to be performers to contribute to the organization, as many non-performing club members help set up the venue and manage the chairs and music stands during the performance. Besides the annual benefit concert, Northwood’s Smile Train Club also partakes in activities such as card-making and bracelet-making for the doctors and patients receiving funding and care from the organization.
“Even when I was watching the concerts as an elementary school student, it would really open my eyes to what the youth in our generation can do to actually make a tangible difference,” Smile Train Club president senior Yul Yang said.
Both Smile Train OC and its school chapters hope to expand their reach to more high school students.
“It’s not just fundraising—it’s actually transforming kids’ lives,” Yang said. “Our club brings together people that genuinely care about making a difference through creativity and teamwork.”
