Winter Harmony: Student Bands Shine

By Arman Craig and Sameed Marco, Online Editor and Content Manager

Photos by Sameed Marco

   The Acalanes instrumental students played at the annual winter concert on Dec 4. The concert featured two pieces by percussion ensembles, three pieces by the symphonic band, and four pieces each by the orchestra and wind ensemble.

   The Winter Concert showcases Acalanes instrumental programs’ hard work and dedication.

   “The students are the star of the show. They really are the ones that are making the preparation happen,” Acalanes Director of Instrumental Music Edwin Cordoba said.

   The program started preparing for the Winter Concert after the Fall Pops Concert on Oct. 10. This preparation involved pieces of varying origins.

   “After our pops concert, we’ve hit the ground running on new music and while the pops concert features more popular music this winter concert is going to be featuring music of different backgrounds, by different types of composers, and from different eras,” Cordoba said.

   Instrumentalists spend a lot of time, both at school and outside of it, practicing their parts in preparation for concerts.

   “I’m always practicing my role at home to make sure when our performance comes around, I help us sound good,” junior Vedant Todi said.

   In class, Cordoba directed the group and the class identified and worked on difficult parts together. Ultimately, pieces which were chosen for the Winter Concert are composed by diverse and often musically underrepresented communities.

   “We really value showcasing traditionally underrepresented composers and so a big part of what we try to do is try to showcase music by people of different backgrounds and showcase music of different styles and different time periods to not only create an educationally sound experience but also to create a really dynamic and interesting experience for audience members.” Cordoba said.

   The orchestra and instrumental programs have support from a large group beyond the instrumentalists and Cordoba.

   “We have a lot of help from the school administration and school district helping us by supporting the day to day instruction. We have support from the parents who help kind of spearhead some of the logistics on the day of the concert,” Cordoba said

   The orchestra performed music from Christmas carols to Beethoven, the Dons showed their wide range of talents.

   As for the turnout, students and parents packed the auditorium to see the performance, filling out the stands. 

   “We never miss it, we always love coming to the concerts,” Acalanes parent and attendee Jay Rennie said.

   After the show, several parents expressed their appreciation for the hard work and dedication that students put into their performances.

   “I thought it was wonderful. The pieces were very interesting, with a wide selection of music,” Acalanes parent and attendee Jenny Anderson said.

   The performers themselves felt a sense of accomplishment and excitement about the show, reflecting on what they did best.

   “I liked Romanze [in C] by Sibelius because I think it’s a very classic traditional Orchestra piece. It has a lot of good moments, a lot of highs, a lot of lows, very dynamic changes. And it appealed to a general audience,” junior Amelia Tantameng said.

   The instrumentalists are excited about upcoming opportunities to showcase their talents and continue to grow as musicians.

   “We have a busy spring semester coming up where we have a few festivals where we will get to perform for adjudicators and of course other concerts in the spring,” Cordoba said, “The biggest one is the Chicago International Music Festival. We were accepted to perform in Chicago at a music festival that is audition only so we are looking forward to putting the small symphony orchestra together to be able to showcase Acalanes out there during spring break of this coming year.”