Music Groups Finish Year with Spring Concert

The Spring concert took place on Wednesday, May 17 and involved the band, choir, and orchestra. 

Band teacher Ms. Hamada described how new songs are added to the groups’ repertoire: ‘’In rehearsal we try to get the basic structure of the piece, such as notes and rhythm. Then we will refine the note and rhythms by adding dynamics and articulation. Finally, we work on ensemble balance and blend.’’ She said that the students had multiple assessments throughout the year that are graded, which motivate the students to bring home their instruments and practice more to prepare them for the concert. 

To go over all of these techniques with her students, she said, ‘’we spent about three months working on our music.” In between the Spring and Winter concerts, there were events such as Cafe Night and the music trip. She emphasizes that she is very proud of her students and how prepared they were given little time to rehearse.

Hamada’s favorite piece was that was showcased in the concert was “Mambo” by Leonard Bernstein “because the performance was so lively that we had the audience clapping and cheering for us.’’ 

Isabella Ramirez, a former orchestra member, said ‘’my favorite piece out of the orchestra was “Perseus”. She said she likes this piece because of how energetic and loud it is. “The base and cellos start off with hitting loud notes and the sound that comes from it is really cool.” 

Isabella preferred this year’s Spring concert “because we felt more together and knew more of what we were doing as opposed to in the winter concert.’’

Another orchestra member, Catalina Narvaez, said, ‘’I feel very confident in how I performed because I played with a good tone quality and sound production.’’ Practicing at home constantly everyday and not just in school helped her perform really well in the show.  

Overall, Hamada thinks that the concert went well and she couldn’t be more proud of her students, as well as everyone else that participated in the concert. She said, “I received a lot of positive feedback from audience members who said they could hear a huge improvement since the beginning of the year.’’

Hamada said that she is looking forward to a lot more successful concerts.