The McIntosh orchestra performed a pre-LGPE (Large Group Performance Evaluation) concert on Feb. 25. The concert consisted of three pieces. The first, “Sinfonia in D,” was written by Johann Stamitz and arranged by Elizabeth Green. The piece is written in the Baroque style, which requires the musicians to position their bow in a different way than their normal bow hold. The second piece, “Voices in the Shadows,” was written by Brian Balmages. According to the FJH Music Company, the piece “moves through a series of sections that become increasingly intense,” eventually culminating in singing. Every member of the orchestra sings a note and fades into a soft hum. The third piece, “Lion City,” was written by Soon Hee Newbold. This unusually rhythmic piece involves a rain stick, stomping, and tapping on instruments.
As the school year progresses through the second semester, the orchestra’s LGPE performance represents a milestone of growth for the orchestra.
“Under the direction of Mrs. Litowich, our orchestra has greatly developed over the course of the year,” said sophomore Jocelyn Wang. “In the beginning, we were just decent players, but through repeated fine-tuning in various skills, we have grown to become true musicians.”
However, the group will continue to work and improve their performance before their actual LGPE on Mar. 12.
“I believe the orchestra’s biggest problem is staying cohesive throughout our performance,” said Wang. “Since we usually practice the music in different groups separated by ability level, it is difficult to merge all the classes and still maintain unison in tone and pitch. It becomes easier to tune out other sections and only focus on our own parts with more people playing than what we’re used to.”
“Our orchestra is passionate about what we play,” said Wang. “Each note is backed by emotion, which creates a strong tone. Although pitch-wise, we have a few areas to work on, I believe our orchestra is, as a whole, able to make the audience feel the music instead of just hear it.”