“We’re having a lot of fun and the orchestra is sounding better than ever” – Ms. Ernst.
The fall orchestra concert is on October 26th. The theme is Bridgerton and the musicians will play a range of pieces from Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, and Billie Eilish. These may be pop selections but they will be played in a classical style and manner as in the Netflix show. Ms. Ernst chose this theme because she not only enjoys the show but also loves the crossover concept of taking popular pop songs and changing them to fit into a classical environment.
“My goal for the orchestra this year is to play a wide variety of music” Ms. Ernst stated. Playing a wide variety of music is a crucial element in a musician’s education because it makes the student more versatile, meaning they will have an easier time getting into bigger orchestra programs. The pop collections are also harder to play. Classical music is easy to sight read because it is written on a page. On the other hand, pop music was written electronically and then adapted into sheet music for an orchestra to play it. This means that the rhythms are
more confusing to read because the piece was not designed to be played by an orchestra. Folk music is the same way. It was played on instruments by memory and then later someone translated into sheet music. This is what makes this concert so difficult for students as all the pop music rhythms are difficult to read and very fast paced.
“I like the concert theme, I think the music is very pleasing to outside people and the music is also challenging for us to play.” says Clara Bonell, Violin 2 section leader. I talked to all the section leaders to try and see what they enjoy about being a part of the orchestra and why they play their instrument.
The violin one section leader Luka Kourtev enjoys orchestra class because it allows him to express himself by playing music. His favorite type of music to play is jazz on his piano or bass and he thinks the fall orchestra concert theme is interesting.
Clara Bonell, the violin two section leader has been playing her instrument for a long time and has a lot of family history in the music world. Her dad is a professional french horn player, her mother plays piano and clarinet, all of her uncles are professional musicians, and her grandfather is a band director. Clara chose to play the violin because when she was younger she saw Lindsey Stirling and wanted to be just like her, so with the support of her musical family they got her started early. After Clara graduates from high school her plans are to pursue music composition.
Spencer Melton, the viola section leader, believes that the fall orchestra concert is going to be fun and he believes that the music is entertaining for the audience.
Now that we have introduced the section leaders we hope that you feel more connected with our school’s orchestra. If you have always wanted to try orchestra but don’t know where to start, you can always reach out to one of the people mentioned in this article and they would love to help you.
Ms. Ernst says that her final goal for the year is to put on entertaining concerts and hopes you will attend the concert on October 26th, at 7:00 PM in the Mount Pleasant High School Auditorium. The orchestra is also currently doing a cheesecake fundraiser and would love it if you would support it. Cheesecakes are $20. Contact anyone you know in the orchestra for more info to order. We hope to see you at our concert!
