by Ms. Elizabeth
This past Saturday, the KSMA Vivace and Allegro orchestras presented their first performance since beginning work together this past August. Orchestra students have been working for the past 3 months to learn not only how to play together as a group, but also about teamwork and individual responsibility.
The performance this past weekend was at Island ECC and students were able to perform not only for their own parents, but for all of the other students and parents in the school! This performance began with the Vivace Orchestra. Raymond first talked about orchestra member responsibilities before rehearsal. These included bringing materials (pencil, music, stand, instrument) and practicing your part before rehearsal. Next, Ella Marie talked about responsibilities during rehearsal including not talking, paying attention, and marking any mistakes in your part. The Vivace Orchestra then played an arrangement of BWV 262, a chorale written by J.S. Bach (introduced by Julian). The group sounded so great, and they were able to show their knowledge of dynamics, breathing together, and playing the correct bowings during their performance.
Next, the Allegro Orchestra took the stage. They first performed the Peace Canon (introduced by Zoe) in unison and in a round. Zara did a great job of explaining canons (or rounds) to the audience. Next, the group played Swing Low (introduced by Roger) and Oh When the Saints (introduced by Lucas). Finally, they played both of these tunes with a harmony part (introduced by Alicia). Wow, what an amazing sound when everything came together!
It may have been short, but the orchestra performance was polished and the students were great examples of what it means to be an attentive, responsible orchestra musician. I’m already looking forward to the next time we get to share our work together!
Check out the videos of our performance!
https://youtu.be/qaZ18DBsqsU (Vivace) https://youtu.be/1DX2KtwPTh0 (Allegro)