Fall Orchestra Concert

Recently, I had my first concert in orchestra this year. This is my second year in Camerata Strings.  We practice every Saturday from 9:00 to 11:30. The conductor is really nice and she picks beautiful pieces or us to play. Everyone must practice there part during the week, so we could play it together on Saturday.


My day started early in the morning because I needed to get dressed in a white top and a black skirt and black, shiny shoes. I had to be at the dress rehearsal at 11:30 because we needed to practice on stage. There was a lot of waiting around for our groups turn on stage. Finally, it was our time to perform. I was very nervous when I got on stage, but after we finished playing, there was a lot of clapping from the audience which made me feel very excited. 


We played Fiddles out West,  Sahara Crossing, DECKorations, and Starfleet. Fiddles out West was a very melodic, fast, and a light piece. Sahara Crossing, was a very slow piece. When I play this piece I imagine people crossing the desert suffering because they don't have enough water. Deckorations is a happy piece When I think of  it, I think of all the holidays in December. Starfleet was my least favorite piece. It didn't have much melody and my mom didn't even record it.


Here is a video of our performance. I am kind of hidden behind some of the older kids. I am sitting right behind the blond girl in the front. Sometimes you can see me peek through. I will try out again for first violin in January. I hope I will make it this time. 

Which was your favorite piece?

The Gala Finale Orchestra Concert

At the end of May, I had my final orchestra concert of the year. We have a total of three concerts every year. On the day of the concert, we had to come early because we had a dress rehearsal in a gorgeous hall. When we got of stage after our dress rehearsal, we brought our lunches and our games and played for an hour until it was time for us to go on stage.
 

Here are the songs we played: The first song we played sounded slow and sad.Some violins had a solo part, and they played the high notes which usually is the melody and the rest of the violins played the lower notes. The second song sounded very fast and happy, but it wasn't my favorite.  The next song we played was also very slow, but I thought sounded the most beautiful. It was my favorite.   The final song was also very fast and loud. The cellos started playing first and carried the melody, but then the violins took over and we all played together. Which was your favorite?

In front of the concert hall

• Recuerdos De La Alhambra By Francisco Tarrega
• David and Michael By Carrie Lane Gruselle
• Along the River By Elena Roussanova
• Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man's Chest By Hans Zimmer

Once we finished our part, the older children in the philharmonic played their pieces. They sounded amazing, and they even had a soloist sing some opera pieces.  Since it was our last orchestra concert, we had a reception for everyone that performed that day.  It was also a chance for me to see up close some large percussion instruments. Do you know their names?

At the reception we had cookies, cupcakes, and drinks.  We were all tired and hungry and it was the perfect ending to a long day.  Next year I am going to try out for first violin and see if I make it. I hope I do!

Which is your favorite instrument in an orchestra?

My Fall Orchestra Concert

In September, I auditioned to play violin for the junior orchestra. For the audition, I had to play two songs and three scales that I learned. During the audition, the conductor gave me a piece of music I had never seen before, and asked me to play it to make sure I know how to sight read (read music notes). I was really nervous because there were many older kids waiting in line with us. After I played, the conductor told me that I made it in and I was really excited. We practice every Saturday from 9:00 am until 11:30 am. The conductor is really nice and she decides the songs we will play for our concert.  Everyone in the orchestra must practice their part during the week on their own so that when we play together it sounds good.

In November, we had our first concert of the year. We played Themes From Harry Potter, by John Williams, Hansel and Gretel, by Engelbert Humperdinck, Holiday Dances by Mark Williams, and Trepak which is from The Nutcracker by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The day of the concert was very busy. We had to arrive early in the morning because we had a dress rehearsal. Everyone had to have black skirt or pants, white shirt, and black shoes. We played each song just once on stage because there was an older orchestra group waiting to rehearse. After the dress rehearsal, we had lunch and rested before the concert. When I was finished playing, we stayed and watched the older kids play. They played beautifully. Their pieces were really hard. I hope will someday play in adult orchestra!

Below is a video of part of our performance. At first my mom had a hard time finding me, but by the third song (minute 4:35 in the video) she finally figured out where I was sitting. 

What did you think of our performance? 

Have you ever been to a real concert?