High School Musicians Present Last Concert of the Year

Thursday, May 5, 7 p.m., Orcas Center

— from Kristen Wilson —

“Music in our schools develops character like no other class can,” says Orcas High School Band player Jo Gudgell. “Music teaches us academic motivation, discipline, appreciation, passion and respect. It has taught me, more than anything else, to overcome fear and embrace challenges.” Jo, like all the other members of the Orcas H.S. Band and Strings, 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, May 5, 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.

The Orcas High School Band, directed by Darren Dix, and the High School Strings, directed by Pamela Wright, consistently bring home top ratings from regional competitions.

Concertgoers on May 5 will hear the High School Band perform Variations on a Korean Folk Song, a popular composition (by John Barnes Chance) based on a lyrical pentatonic tune. They will also play A Percy Grainger Suite, a beautifully scored trio of Grainger favorites (arranged by Frank Erickson); and David Holsinger’s vibrant and careening Abram’s Pursuit, which starts with a bang and doesn’t let up until the final notes.

The High School Strings will perform: Modest Mussorgsky’s sprightly peasant dance Hopak from his opera “The Fair at Sorochinsky”; the fast and furious Sabre Dance, one of the most recognized movements of Russian master composer Aram Khachaturian; the bright sunny theme from Mendelssohn’s “Italian” Symphony; and “Aria: Warf je ein Bluhn” from Xerxes by G.F. Handel with soloist Anthony Kaskurs.

The Orcas Band and Strings will combine as the “Orcas Youth Orchestra” to perform Foundry by John Mackey, a piece that stretches our understanding of what percussion can encompass. They will also take us back in time to the huge #1 Billboard hit from 1952 – Blue Tango by Leroy Anderson.

“We are fortunate on Orcas to have two excellent music teachers and many talented students who 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.

“This program requires an incredible degree of teamwork, nurturing some of the strongest friendships I have ever had,” continues Gudgell. “I play music because it is my outlet. It gives me an exhilarating feeling like nothing else.”

This is the first of two concerts by Orcas music students this spring. All are free and open to the public. The 5th to 8th Grade Concert will take place on Thursday, June 2, at 7 p.m. in the High School Gym.