On Jan. 20, the Evergreen Philharmonic hosted their concert, “Evening at the Pops,” in the Longman Performing Arts Center.
The audition-based orchestra played music from iconic film trilogies “The Lord of the Rings” and “Star Wars,” with each film’s music getting 30 minutes worth of performance time. Conductor Leah Weitzsacker described the program: “[It is a] multimedia experience, very interactive. [You can expect a] very dynamic performance from the orchestra.”
The concert opened with music from “The Lord of the Rings,” playing the pieces “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which featured a vocal solo by IHS’s choir teacher Jessica Turner, “The Two Towers,” and “The Return of the King.” Similar to how some concerts of professional orchestras would, Evergreen projected a video containing various clips, animations, and photos relating to themes or scenes from “The Lord of the Rings.” On top of that, lighting from the sides of and above the stage changed as the music and video did. Combining both auditory and visual senses together created such a grand performance that truly had me hooked on every second. I was so impressed by the amount of detail Evergreen paid attention to not only in the graphics, but in the music which showcased such a wide range of emotions. Everything flowed together so well that I felt as if I had actually watched a movie from “The Lord of the Rings.” My expectations were met by double at this point as I enjoyed every song’s story, even though we were only halfway through the show.
After the sensory-packed first half, Weitzsacker turned to the audience to introduce their “Star Wars” section, containing the pieces “Main Title,” “Princess Leia’s Theme,” which featured an instrumental solo by violinist and concertmaster Evan Kong, “The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme),” “Yoda’s Theme,” and “Throne Room and End Title.” Many orchestra members expressed their worries prior to the concert about being about to pull off the complex and difficult songs from this soundtrack, but I found that they sounded similar to the performances of professionals. Weitzacker expressed her confidence in Evergreen, noting “We’re really tackling a lot of hard music and they’re just laying it down. Everything I hand to them, they get it done.” As they played, people dressed as characters from the movie trilogy stood at the sides of the stage and swapped positions as songs changed. The familiarity of all the songs allowed me to enjoy every bit of this section, once again not experiencing a single moment of boredom. Hearing the “Main Title” for the first time in person was so surreal and knowing that some of my own peers were contributing to such incredible sounds made me feel inexplicably happy.
At the end of the concert, the mood in the building was uplifted. While some orchestra members were relieved to have ended the concert, the audience were in awe of how well Evergreen played. Senior Dominic Mendoza, an audience member, says, “My most memorable part was watching the communication between the different musicians during the concert.” Violinist Hope Lee adds on to this theme of teamwork, reflecting, “I’m very proud of us for pulling everything together. I think, in the end, everything turned out well.”
The Evergreen Philharmonic’s next performance is less than a month away; they will be playing on Feb. 10 for Swingin’ in Vienna at 7:30 PM. Cellist Alex Lee gives expectations for their next appearance, hoping to “look better and sound better” for the audience. In the words of attendee and senior Nicole Liu, “[The Evergreen Philharmonic] plays very well, so you should come to their concerts!”
