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| Orchestra >> Articles | ||
All Town Orchestra Festival We all know it’s time for the Winter Orchestra Festival come February. Performed on two separate days, the concert features every orchestra in the town of Lexington: all six elementary schools (grades 4 and 5), 6th grade, 7th/8th grade, the LHS Repertoire Orchestra, and the LHS Honors Orchestra. The next group to play was the All-Town Elementary Orchestra. Their playing shows much technical and musical improvement over the beginners, even though they have just one more year of experience than them. Irene Smail, a French horn player in the Honors Orchestra, remarked that “the independence on parts is inspiring, especially in players of such a young age.” They are truly a treasure and a joy to listen to. William Hawkins, a violin player in the orchestra, thought it was a fun concert. He participated last year as well and says that he “always has a great time.”
To close off the night, every string and wind player in the gymnasium joined together to play a rendition of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Each conductor led their own group, including Matt Bertuzzi, a student teacher from UMass Amherst, who jumped in to direct the Honors Orchestra. The high ceiling filled with musical voices of all ages, sizes, and sounds, united into one grand, powerful finale. The concert ended with a bang as an audience full of enthusiastic parents and friends rose to give a thunderous standing ovation in appreciation of the hard work that students and teachers alike put in to make such a fabulous production. - Annie Johnston |
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The concert started off with a collection of tunes from the youngest musicians in the crowd—the beginning elementary string players. They played “French Folk Song”, “Seminole Chant”, and “Old MacDonald.” Part of their performance even included some carefully coordinated foot stomping. What concentration and unity! Their playing as a whole displayed a lovely sound and showed the effort they have put into practicing their new instruments. 
Moving to the Diamond 7th and 8th grade orchestra shows an obvious leap in development and sound, mainly due to the addition of winds. Dr. Walter Pavasaris commented that adding winds and percussion really “challenges and develops the musicality” of the entire group. The use of winds truly is remarkable, as the orchestra still manages to play in balance and relatively in tune. They add a whole new layer to the sound of the group. A highlight of one of their selections, “March to the Scaffold” by Hector Berlioz, was a beautiful clarinet solo by Thom Jeon, showing impressive talent and confidence. Conductor Patricia Matthews loves to see the wonderful transition and development the players show from 4th grade all the way up to high school. They closed their performance with “Cripple Creek,” which the orchestra executed very well, despite challenging rhythms and syncopation. It was exciting to the very end.
The LHS Honors Orchestra, conducted by Janet Haas, wowed the crowd with the exciting and engaging music from Pirates of the Caribbean. Dr. Walter Pavasaris gushed that they are the “finest high school orchestra in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” and encouraged the younger players to use this source of inspiration to look ahead to their future musical endeavors. “It is not easy. It is worth it. Blood, sweat, and tears,” said Pavasaris.