On Monday, Oct. 14, students of all grade levels in the Concert, Chamber and Symphony Orchestra with the addition of the winds and percussion, perform their annual Fright Night, a Halloween-themed concert.
One highlight for Mr. Jeremy Marino was before the concert began as the students were helping set up.
“One of the students, that were there helping set up, told me that this Fright Night was what inspired her to join orchestra,” Mr. Marino, Orchestra teacher and director said. “It was a personal highlight because you’re trying to create this fun and memorable event. And for that person that changed or had an impact on her, and now she’s part of Orchestra.”
The concert began with spooky Halloween music as some of the performers carried out a coffin which later revealed Mr. Marino wearing a costume.
The Concert Orchestra, mainly composed of freshmen, began the night with “Dance of the Trolls” composed by Mike Forbes.
The Concert Orchestra then plays “Funeral March of a Marionette” composed by Charles Gounod and arranged by Mc. Leod. This piece was originally composed as a piano piece before becoming an orchestral piece in 1879.
Next, the Chamber Orchestra performed “String Quartet No. 7” composed by Dimitri Shostakovich.
A favorite song performed by the Symphony Orchestra was the final piece performed, “A Night on Bald Mountain” composed by Modest Mussorgsky and adapted by Sopkin.
“[A Night on Bald Mountain] had a lot going on,” junior Christian Slago, who has played viola since fourth grade. “It was with the band [and] that just made it way better.”
Mr. Marino recognizes that there are ways for the orchestra to improve.
“There’s stuff that we’re always working on [such as] getting better at rhythm, getting better at sight reading, getting better at intonation [and] getting better at playing with a big sound.”
However, with practice, the orchestra students improve their skills.
“My intonation was definitely really good,” Slago said. “I feel like that was way better overall than last year.”
Orchestra has taught Holland the value of perseverance.
“Sometimes music is really difficult,” he said. “You just need to get going with it [and] keep learning it.”
Playing the viola has helped Slago improve his presentation skills.
“[Playing the viola has] helped [me] present a lot being in such a big crowd and I’d helped a lot in presentations in high school,” he said.
Going into the next performance, Holland’s goal is “to be able to play more expressively and show [himself] more in the next concert.”
Overall, Mr. Marino was proud of the performance and thought that the final pieces were performed well.
“I thought the final pieces were big crowd pleasers,” he said. “It’s nice to play. And it sounds so loud when it’s in that confined space. It’s almost like you’re wearing headphones because the sounds [are] all around you.”
Mr. Marino hopes his students will remember orchestra as a “really positive, supportive environment” and a place for human connection.
“The great thing about orchestra and any music ensemble is that you’re connecting with other people,” he said. “But you [can] combine that with this other deep human need for music, for understanding ourselves, our place in the world, all these kinds of things. So we [can] tap into these two essential elements of understanding ourselves in this deep manner, through this medium, but then also doing it with other people which is a really powerful thing.”
After a successful first Orchestra concert of the year, the Orchestra will prepare for their next performance: the Orchestra festival on Dec. 5 which will include local middle school Orchestras.
