High School Musicians Present Last Concert of the School Year

Thursday, June 4, at 7 p.m., Orcas Center

— from Kristen Wilson —

“Music is why I get up in the morning,” says Orcas High School Strings player Wylie Kau. “In my mind there’s no better way to start the day off in the right direction.” Wylie, like all the other members of the Orcas H.S. Strings and Band, gets up early Monday through Friday to arrive at school before 7:30 for music classes each morning.

You can hear the results of all their hard work when the Orcas High School Band and Strings present their last performance of the school year at Orcas Center on Thursday, June 4, at 7 p.m. The concert is free and the community is encouraged to attend – to support the students and to hear how far these young musicians have developed.

Last January the Orcas High School Strings, under the direction of Pamela Wright, were selected as First Alternate for State Competition at the San Juan Music Educators Association Solo/Ensemble Contest, coming in a very close second to Bellingham’s Sehome High School, a school with nearly ten times the enrollment of Orcas High School. The Orcas High School Band, directed by Darren Dix, brought home “Excellent” ratings from judges at a regional Contest in Bellingham last March.

Concertgoers on June 4 will hear the High School Band perform The Original Thirteen, a bravura piece (by William Billings, arr. Ployhar) with woodwinds trilling, brass fanfare-ing and cymbals crashing. They will also play David Shaffer’s bold and contemporary Flight of the Pegasus and Rob Romeyn’s beautiful At Sunrise.

The High School Strings will perform the Allegro and Andante movements of Mozart’s sparkling Divertimento No. 3 in F major, Alexander Borodin’s Nocturne (one of the most popular tunes in all of classical music), and Leroy Anderson’s dazzling pizzicato piece Plink Plank Plunk.

The Orcas Strings and Band combine as the “Orcas Youth Orchestra” to play a medley from the wildly successful Broadway show “Les Miserables,” Pinball Wizard from the rock opera “Tommy,” the Dave Brubeck jazz standard Take Five, and perhaps the most recognized movie theme of all time – The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini.

“We are fortunate on Orcas to have two excellent music teachers who, along with all of our talented students, are presenting increasingly advanced and polished musical performances,” said Catherine Pederson, President of the Music Advocacy Group. Donations from the Music Advocacy Group have paid for the participation and transportation of all the middle school and high school students to multiple music contests this school year.

“Music helps me relax, focus, and feel,” continued Kau. “Being able to share what makes me happy with others is why I participate in school music.”

This is the last in a trio of concerts by Orcas music students this spring. All have been free and open to the public.