By Candice Navi

Friends and family gathered at St. Michael’s church on Saturday, Dec. 1 to hear the Upper School orchestras perform at the Winter Orchestra Concert.

The last orchestra performance was in October, giving them about two months to prepare.

The Winter Orchestra Concert on Saturday included the Concert and Symphony Orchestras.

Rather than have the Concert and Symphony groups perform separately, the orchestras were separated into three ensembles: a combination of the Concert and Symphony Orchestra winds, Concert Orchestra strings and the whole Symphony Orchestra.

Among the many famous composers and song writers whose work was performed during Saturday’s concert were Gustav Holst, Arcangelo Corelli and Johannes Brahms.

After the first song was performed, upper school orchestra teacher William McClain explained the theme of the concert: friendship.

“Tonight we are celebrating friendship and having a confidant, someone to confide in. One element was having Concert and Symphony winds together. Many of them knew one another and were glad to be performing together,” McClain said.

To continue the theme of friendship, the winds were accompanied by saxophone players from other school ensembles.

“It was a great experience to be able to perform with the Concert and Symphony orchestras,” guest saxophonist Casper Stockwell ’10 said.

Michelle Lozano ’08, a cellist in Concert Orchestra, said, “Our hard work surely showed in the concert.”
Concert Orchestra Bassist Janine Zelden ’10 said, “After our first concert, we worked really hard, and after hours and hours of practice, it was completely worth it in the end.”