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Ariella Bucio

Aaron Chen, a senior violin player, won the Strolling Strings award from Mr. Marino; he is in the Chamber Orchestra.

On Thursday, April 26, members from all orchestras performed their spring orchestra concert in the Butler Lake Auditorium. This concert included music from the Concert Orchestra, String Project, Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra.

The Concert Orchestra, consisting of all freshmen, performed first. The first piece they played was “Anitra’s Dance from Peer Gynt Suite,” composed by Edvard Grieg. This piece was conducted by Mr. Jeremy Marino and featured band director Mr. Matthew Karnstedt on percussion. It was a very quiet piece with the string players switching between plucking their strings and using their bows.

The second piece they played was “Danzon from Fancy Free,” composed by Leonard Bernstein. This piece was more upbeat with a mysterious sound to it. After they finished performing, section leaders Richard Xiao, Jodie Chen, Celia McDermott-Hinman, Abigail Gourley and Ashley Cervantes stood up. After the orchestra took their bows, Mr. Marino awarded Xiao with the LHS concert orchestra award for demonstrating leadership in the orchestra.

Next to perform was the String Project. This is a non-audition group that meets after school and is open to all grade levels. The first piece they played was “Take It All Back,” composed by Judah & the Lion and arranged by senior Katie Lund. This piece created an excited feeling in the audience as it was a more modern piece. Lund stood to be recognized for arranging the piece.

The second piece they played was “Annie Waits,” composed by Ben Folds and arranged by Mr. Marino. This tune was a very dramatic piece that had the audience on the edge of their seats. After they finished playing, senior Aaron Chen won the Strolling Strings award. Mr. Marino explained that while Strolling Strings is no longer a group at the high school, they still give an award for it.

Next up was the Chamber Orchestra, a group students must audition to be in. The first piece they played was the fourth movement of “String Quartet in D major, 1897,” composed by Arnold Schoenberg. This tune had a very bold start with many crescendos throughout the piece.

The next piece they played was the fourth movement of “String Quartet No. 1 ‘White Man Sleeps,’” composed by Kevin Volans. This piece was very relaxed with very minimal conducting by Mr. Marino. This tune created a very contrasting sound because during much of the song, some sections of the orchestra would be plucking while others were playing with their bows.

The last piece they played was “Dabke,” composed by Kareen Roustom. This song had a very eerie feel to it that created suspense for the audience. After a long applause, section leaders seniors Colin Miller, Philip Nauman, Katie Lund, and junior Nate Rezell stood.

Before the Symphony Orchestra performed, members from all orchestras played “Introduction and Allegro,” composed by Edward Elgar. This piece included a quartet consisting of Nauman, Chen, Miller and Lund. This piece was very powerful with everyone playing together. After this piece finished, seniors Lexi Stavrakos, Chen and Lund thanked Mr. Marino for being their director for four years and presented him with gifts. Nauman was then given the award for String Orchestra.

The last group to perform was the Symphony Orchestra. The first piece they played was the first movement of “Cello Concerto in D minor,” composed by Edouard Lato. This piece included senior soloist Alex Hibbard-Brown on cello. This piece was played very precisely with a dramatic ending.

The last piece they played was “West Side Story Overture,” composed by Leonard Bernstein and adapted by Peress. Mr. Karnstedt came out to direct this final number. This piece included a lot of percussion, keeping the audience engaged and focused on the musicians. After the piece was finished, the band took their final bows.

This was the last orchestra concert of the year.