Orchestra Spring Concert

The Jamestown Orchestra played 10 pieces, with the whole orchestra playing 5 together, and the Honors Orchestra playing 5 as well. As one of the violinists who got to play with the Honors Orchestra, I can say that we all enjoyed the experience and had lots of fun. Every concert is very memorable, from the hours of practice and the dress rehearsal to the concert. Some of us even go out and have a small celebration after concerts.

At this spring concert, we had a variety of music. From arrangements of modern music to romantic-era music.

• Little Russian March (Arranged by ROBERT LONGFIELD)- This piece is an arrangement of the Second movement of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.2 in C minor Op.17. This piece was written while Tchaikovsky was visiting Kamianka, Ukraine, as a music critic. When he was there, he was inspired by the folk music, which heavily influenced the 2^nd symphony.

• Legends of Glory (Composed by Kathryn Griesinger)- This piece is a modern-style piece. It is a fun and simple piece to learn and play, and many people enjoy it because the piece depicts a story. As the name suggests, it has a very legendary sound, like the one you’d hear when someone tells an epic story. It takes you on a journey, and there are parts where the tension builds and then dissipates, giving it a majestic feel.

• La Media Noche (Arranged by Bob Lipton) – This piece was originally a Puerto Rican song that was transposed for orchestra. It is a very fast and fun piece to play. It has many moving parts, and it was one of the more complicated pieces for us to learn.

• Yesterday (Arranged by ROBERT LONGFIELD)- This is an arrangement of the original song “Yesterday” by the Beatles. This song was quite different from the original, since the arrangement was written in G-Major for simplicity, while the original is in F-Major.

• Clocks : (Arranged by ROBERT LONGFIELD)- This is an arrangement of the original song “Clocks” by Coldplay.

• Tangled Tango (Composed by Steven L. Rosenhaus)- This piece has the most pizzicato out of all the pieces.

• Waltz (Arranged by Matthew Moreno)- This is an arrangement of “La plus que lente” by Claude Debussy. This is a really nice piece where players can use expressive vibrato on notes to make them shine, and it is easy \to play.

• Howl’s Moving Castle (Arranged by Jiyoung Um)- This is an arrangement of a very famous piece originally from the movie “Howl’s Moving Castle” back in 2004.

• Overture of 1812 ()- This is an arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture in E-Flat Major, Op.49. This is a very famous piece that many don’t know the name of but have heard many times.

• Basically Bach (Arranged by Tyler Archari)- This is an arrangement of many famous pieces by Bach, who is a very famous composer known for his complex music. Some of the pieces are “Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Sleepers, Wake, Brandenburg Concerto No.3, and more, which many people have heard of, but don’t know the names.

• Lover Girl (Arranged by Michael Kamuf)- This is an arrangement of the original song “Lover Girl” by Laufey. This piece was very different from the rest because it was jazz-pop. This was especially difficult because the 1st violinist were playing at a different rhythm than the rest of the orchestra in certain parts of the piece, which can easily throw people off and ruin the performance. Overall, it was played very well, and it was one of the orchestra’s favorite pieces.

Getting to play some of these pieces is a very unique experience for musicians, given their fame and societal and historical significance. Especially the pieces that were written by famous composers like Tchaikovsky and Bach. We, as musicians, try to play as many genres as possible to see which we like best. I am very fond of romantic-era music, so being able to play arrangements of Tchaikovsky’s music means a lot to me as a musician.

Unfortunately, playing in an Orchestra is no easy task, especially as a student. We need to learn to balance our classes with the amount of practice we need to perform at our best. As one of the 1^st violinists in the Honors Orchestra myself, I can say that just practicing in class is not an option. We need to practice our instruments consistently to learn new pieces and improve our techniques.

For some of us that will change. This concert we celebrated the leaving of all our senior class that will be leaving us for their studies in college or wherever they would like to go. Some of them will continue to study musical art and continue playing as a hobby. Some will stop playing entirely due to them being too busy with their studies. At the end of the day, we all enjoyed the concert. Musicians and audiences alike. This is due to the incredible musical arts program Jamestown offers and the teachers behind it all. I want to thank Mr. Hederer for all the help and support he’s given us as musicians, and for none of this being possible without him always being there, pushing us a little bit more each time to become better each time.

Written by: Mathias Munoz Gonzalez

Edited by: Harrison Davies