By Justine Goode

 

Rugby Auditorium was filled with melodies ranging from classic Gershwin to chamber music and from sleigh rides to swashbuckling pirates.

The combined efforts of the Symphony Orchestra, Concert Strings, Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble, conducted by musical director Mark Hilt, culminated in a Winter Orchestra Concert that drew inspiration from both classical and modern composers.

The Wind Ensemble opened the show by performing older, more traditional pieces, followed by the Concert Strings, who were accompanied on some songs by members of the Symphony Orchestra.

Percussion Ensemble then performed two songs, the first called “A Study in 5/8,” a rhythm which Hilt described as “a dog with three legs.”

All the ensembles joined the Symphony Orchestra onstage to play the final three pieces. One of the songs, “Pirates of the Caribbean,” had been suggested to Hilt by the students.The concert ended with a rendition of the holiday tune “Sleigh Ride,” which Hilt says will become a tradition

“It went really well, especially considering that we were not doing that great during our last rehearsals,” Jay Kleinbart ’12, who played with both the Percussion Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, said.