photo credit: Abi Wykoff
One final note rings out to the audience, sustaining in the air for what feels like forever, and just like that, it’s over. The crowd roars to its feet in applause, and the performing arts year has officially begun.
On Oct. 7, all orchestra groups had their premier performance for the year, and on Oct. 13, the choir had its first performance of the year at the fall concert. Due to the varying and novice skill levels of new members, different difficulties of music are selected for the groups to provide a baseline on the skill level of members this year.
“For the fall concert, Mrs. Cornett picks easier pieces, at least for Chamber, so she can judge how good the orchestra is right now because we’ve got a lot of new members right now. We can take it, whatever comes our way,” sophomore and All-state orchestra member Gideon Beal said.
The fall concert began with the two non-audition groups, Prelude Orchestra, the freshman group, Concert Orchestra, the sophomore, junior and senior group. In the past, these groups often struggled with some aspects, but this year they are viewed with more optimism toward their abilities.
“At the first concert, I always look forward to watching students who have not previously played together work as a team to put together a great performance. I have been especially impressed with what I am seeing from the Prelude and Concert Orchestra,” Orchestra Director Lori Cornett said.
After the Concert Orchestra performance, Sinfonia and Chamber were to follow, both groups only accepting the best of the best. This, in turn, allows their craft to be fully perfected and the music to be at its absolute best.
“Sinfonia and Chamber are made up of players who have earned a spot through an audition, so the expectation level is higher for these students,” Cornett said.
For the finale of the fall concert, a special piece was played in combination with the concert band in an epic piece that brought the audience to its feet in a standing ovation to kick off the year.
“The full orchestra piece has come together really well for this concert. We had more combined rehearsals with Chamber, Sinfonia and Wind Ensemble than usual, so I feel like the tempo changes are locking together really well. ‘The Dvorak’ is a great piece, and I love this arrangement. The audience really seemed to enjoy it,” Cornett said.
The second major concert of the year was the fall choir concert, which involved many groups performing for the first time, much like the fall orchestra concert.
“All of the choirs performed, including OMG, which is our freshman Tenor/Basses choir, Vocal Point, which is our freshman Soprano/Alto choir, Varsity Singers, which is our sophomore Soprano/Alto choir, Choraliers, which is our all parts choir, which mostly consists of upperclassmen. Along with that, we have our two audition choirs, Starstruck, our jazz choir and ATN, our a cappella choir,” senior Above The Noise and Choraliers member Saanvi Gulati.
The most difficulty in learning music came from the Choraliers group, which faced many unique challenges in learning the music.
“Choraliers is a bit hard because a lot of our songs are in different languages so learning the way to say things was difficult,” Gulati said.
A special occurrence for the choir that happened at the concert is the inclusion of school alumni in some performances.
“As a senior, I’m really excited to sing the Alma Mater and the national anthem one last time in a huge group setting and also with choir alumni who are allowed to come up and sing with us. It’s going to be a lot different than last year because it’s my last year, so it will be the last time I get to perform in the fall concert,” Gulati said.
And with these performances, the performing arts year has officially begun, leading to a hopeful year for all members and directors.
