SHS Enjoys Annual Pre-Break Orchestra Concert

Last Friday, December 20, the SHS Chamber and Symphonic Orchestras strived to ease audiences from the insomnia of testing week into the holiday break. SHS Orchestra Director Amédée Williams led each ensemble through two performances, lasting all of third period, which included a wide variation of music from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras. 

The Chamber Orchestra, a smaller ensemble consisting of older students who lack seventh period frees, kicked off the concert with Sinfonia by Joseph Hadyn. What they lacked in numbers and common frees, the group made up for in varying dynamics, togetherness, and intonation. Because of the time constraint, they were only able to finish Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli in the second half of the third period, concluding Chamber’s portion of the program. 

Orchestra members Gabriel Lesser ’20 and Caitlin Barotz ’20 helped divert the audience’s attention with witty jokes as the Symphonic Orchestra, an ensemble comprising of string musicians of all grades, struggled to fit over eighty people onto the stage. They played a total of five pieces: Symphony No. 8, Sinfonia X in B Minor, Danzas de Panama, Irish Legend, and White Christmas.

Beginning with Schubert, a composer whose eminence became justified as the symphony enthralled the audience, and ending with the tradition of White Christmas, the orchestra never fails to hold the auditorium in a trance of lyrical melodies and explosive dynamics, sending them off into the holidays and the new year.

Tired of just reading about it? Experience the Winter Festival Concert performance for the parents here: SHS Orchestra 2019-12-17 Winter Concert on Vimeo