On the night of Nov. 2, Evergreen Philharmonic performed their Season Premiere concert at the Longman Performing Arts Center. They were opened by the Middle School Honors Orchestra, featuring students from all five middle schools, and conducted by Orchestra Director Christi Chang from Chinook Middle School. After a crowd-pleasing opener, Evergreen Philharmonic took the stage to perform an assortment of lively and upbeat pieces.

Conducted by Orchestra Director Leah Weitzsacker, Evergreen opened with Reinhold Gliere’s energetic “Russian Sailor’s Dance.” They then transitioned to “Danse Macabre,” a more subtle piece with eerie undertones. “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” was a particular favorite amongst the audience and performers alike, proving to be the highlight of the night. The flute-heavy “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” took a break from its more intense predecessors and had a bright and spirited tone. The well-rounded finale of “Nabucco Overture” held elements of the entire concert as it alternated between somber tones to moments of loud intensity. The stimulating and impressive performance from Evergreen kept the audience’s full attention from beginning to end.

Afterwards, Weitzsacker commended the students for their “hard work because they had very hard music.” Junior Brian Guo “felt tired and accomplished” and “looks forward to the rest of the season.” This sentiment was shared among other players as well as they spent several months preparing for the premiere. Evergreen’s work is just starting and they have performances lined up again this month and in December. Senior Olivia Wang says, “It was rewarding and felt good to show our abilities to the audience. We are performers and we do what we can with what we have, but our goal is to always make it a show. I am excited to see how far we can go this year.” This ‌performance‌ ‌certainly‌ ‌shows‌ ‌promise‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌rest‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌season‌ ‌and‌ ‌despite‌ ‌the‌ already ‌remarkable‌ ‌abilities‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌players,‌ ‌it‌ ‌is‌ ‌only‌ ‌the‌ ‌beginning‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌orchestra.‌