Preparation pays off in annual Winter Concert
PHOTO: The string quartet plays a piece during the Davis High orchestras’ Winter Concert. The concert took place on Dec. 13 in the Brunelle Theater.
By Juju Miyamoto,
BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–
As the crowd quiets following a burst of applause, the familiar tune of “Sleigh Ride” arises from the mass of violins, violas and cellos on the center of the stage at Brunelle Theater on Dec. 13. The song is a crowd favorite of the annual Winter Concert, spurring loud cheers from the audience as the loud clap produced by senior Ethan Lo on the whip concludes the holiday tune.
Senior Hanson Li, first violin, believes “Sleigh Ride” was the highlight of the concert. “‘Sleigh Ride’ is an audience favorite because we do it every year,” Hanson Li said.
The symphony has been preparing for this particular concert since the beginning of the semester. The process included learning pieces in class, practicing with sections of the symphony and holding additional Sunday rehearsals with brass, wind and percussion artists.
Senior Jessica Li, cello section leader, believes there was room for improvement in the final product. “I felt that we could’ve played better if we had another Sunday night rehearsal just to finalize a few things between the band and strings, but I think our work paid off and this was one of our better runs,” Jessica Li said.
Leading up to the concert, the symphony plays separately from the additional percussionists and band members. However, music teacher Angelo Moreno conducted practices and rehearsals for both strings and the band.
“We have symphony class but that’s only for the strings since the wind, percussion and brass students are all ‘volunteers,’” Jessica Li said.
Hanson Li recognizes the success of the orchestras’ Winter Concert as the “audience seemed like they really enjoyed it.”
Senior Emma Chang agreed. Chang attended the concert and believes the song selection was an essential element in the performance.
“The songs were really enjoyable and they had a lot of variety in the style of music they played so it was fun listening to the pieces,” Chang said.
