Tomorrow at 7 p.m. the concert and chamber orchestras will play in their fall concert, The Sounds of October. The concert will include works by Eric Whitacre, Percy Grainger and Astor Piazzolla. The orchestras have been preparing for this concert since the beginning of the year.
Orchestra director Alison Lankheit said the process to get ready for the first concert usually starts with weeks of sight-reading pieces to choose repertoire. The first few weeks of sight-reading are also used for getting used to playing in an orchestra after summer break. After trying a variety of music, Lankheit selects the right level for the students in the orchestra and different genres of compositions for the concert. Then, the real work begins.
For Lankheit, the first concert shows how the group will progress through the year, what level of pieces she can assign and introduces the freshmen to the experience of playing in a high school ensemble.
“It also gives the students a chance to understand how everyone plays as a group,” Lankheit said. “It gives the parents the opportunity to hear how the group sounds because each year it varies from seniors graduating and new students coming into the orchestras.”
Lankheit said many students moved up this year from concert orchestra into the chamber orchestra, which she said caused her to have a hard time doing seating auditions for so many talented students.
“I think this year was one of the hardest years for me to distinguish people from the top,” Lankheit said. “That’s a good thing because that tells me that this year’s group is very strong in their playing and that they’re going to have a good year ahead of them.”
Sophomore violist Reece Smith moved up from the intermediate orchestra, Concert Orchestra, to the advanced orchestra. He said he is enthusiastic about the first concert because it is his first one with the chamber orchestra and likes the challenge and the sound of the pieces students are playing.
“I’ve liked the transition between Chamber Orchestra. I like playing all of these challenging pieces and enjoying them. I also like not having as watered-down pieces in Chamber,” Smith said. “I have to push myself more, which is a nice change from Concert where I didn’t feel like I had to practice as much, but now that I’m in Chamber, that’s changed. I’m excited for the rest of the year and how it turns out.”
Freshman violinist Julie Baguio said the change from middle school to high school was a change. She said the music is more entertaining to play and likes to perform with talented students. She said she also enjoys how efficient the rehearsals go compared to middle school.
“High schoolers tend to be more mature than eighth-graders, so rehearsals are a lot more efficient than they were in middle school,” Baguio said. “I like having a chance to play in high school, and I’m excited for the first concert because it’s my first ever at Rock Bridge.”
Overall, Lankheit said she thinks both orchestras are ready for the concert. Lankheit said she has no qualms about how they are going to do, and that she enjoys the pieces she chose for the concert.
“I feel great,” Lankheit said. “I feel really comfortable with the concert for both orchestras. The music has been rehearsed enough, and I think it’ll go amazing.”
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