On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the various string ensembles of LHS joined with winds and percussion to perform their annual Fright Night concert in the main gym.
The Halloween-themed concert has been a cherished orchestra tradition since the year 2000, created by Mr Jeremy Marino, the 27-year Orchestra Director at LHS.
“Fright Night offer[s] this opportunity to pick more fun music that everyone could like,” Mr Marino said. “I like that as a function for the beginning of the year, and we kept it going because it’s most students’ favorite concert.”
The concert began as it has for years, with a procession of students carrying a coffin into the gym, which swung open to reveal Mr. Marino inside wearing a Halloween costume.
The night began with Concert Orchestra, the freshman ensemble, as they set the scene with a piece called “Transylvanian Tango” by Zach Wallmark, a grotesque groove that set off the show with a bang. The orchestra then played “Ghost Graveyard” by Erik Morales and “Graveyard Shift” by Chris Thomas.
The LHS String Quartet, a select group of the premier string players in the program, took the stage, performing the second movement of “String Quartet No. 8” by Dimitri Shostakovich. The piece was written in 1960 and is a classic in the repertoire. The piece’s harsh rhythms and frantic horror made it a clear choice for this concert.
Chamber Orchestra, the oldest and most experienced ensemble, then performed some compelling movements originally written for string quartet, including “Inner Demons from String Quartet No. 2” by Stacy Garrop and the second movement of Schubert’s “String Quartet No. 14.”
The Chamber Orchestra then combined forces with the Symphony Orchestra, the largest string ensemble, and the winds and percussion to perform a collection of larger pieces. They began with a scene from “Don Giovanni” by Mozart.
The final piece on the program, “Uranus,” a movement from “The Planets” by Gustav Holst, required unique instruments that are not usually used in an orchestra. Senior Joey Kim, a euphonium player, had his first-ever experience performing with an orchestra.
“It’s definitely been an adjustment,” said Kim. “Getting used to hearing only band instruments, more winds, more brass, and replacing those with the softer songs of strings is definitely an adjustment, but it’s been a fun experience,”
“Uranus” was a favorite of Senior Nina Hernandez, a percussionist who has been playing with the orchestra for three years.
“I had a really fun part for the Host but I really enjoyed playing my part and I thought we sounded really good and it came together at the end,” Hernandez said.
Mr Marino was pleased with the performance and enjoys working with the orchestra every day.
“All the kids I get are really good kids because they’ve lasted through 5 or 6 years of middle school orchestra,” Marino said. “Because they’ve lasted through they’ve chosen to be here…so it’s just great to see them transform over these four years, which is a really cool transitional moment in everyone’s life.”
The Orchestra is now preparing for their next performance: the Orchestra Festival on Dec. 4 which will combine the LHS orchestras with the surrounding middle school ensembles.
