On Thursday, October 24th, Issaquah High School’s Greenwood Orchestra and Chamber Strings had their first joint concert of the school year. The Greenwood Orchestra is a first year class, taken after three years of orchestra through school or private instruction, according to the Issaquah High School course guide. The course guide page for the Chamber Strings states that it is a course that requires an audition, which means that they are a group carefully selected for their skill.
The night started off with the Greenwood Orchestra: who played “Lion City” by Soon Hee Newbold, “Orchid” by Yukiko Nishimura, and “The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart” by Alan Lee Silva, which was inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” They performed all of these with a unified sound, and it was lovely to listen to, though there were small errors that left room for growth.
The second song “Orchid” sounded ethereal, and it was remarkable how beautiful the orchestra sounded after working together for just under two months. “The Evil Eye and the Hideous Heart” was appropriately ominous for the Halloween season, staying true to the horror story it was based on. Percussionists were featured in that song to help play the role of the “heart,” alongside the low string instruments. Freshman Maya Stark, who plays viola for the Greenwood Orchestra, said, “They did pretty good, there were some out of tune notes, but it was fun.” She said her favorite song to perform was “Lion City” because it is a fast and fun song. I found that the whole performance from the Greenwood Orchestra was thoroughly impressive, especially when considering how early in the school year it still is.
Through their performance, the Chamber Strings made it clear that only the best were selected from the auditions. They played beautifully as a group, and their sound was cohesive and clear. The group performed their first song, “L’estro Armonico” by Antonio Vivaldi, J.S. Bach, and arranged by Bob Lipton. They played without a conductor leading them, showing off how well they work collaboratively. Their second song was an excerpt of “Bacchanale,” written by Carmille Saint-Saens and arranged by Gregg A. Porter. The song was upbeat and fast-paced, which made it very fun to listen to.
They finished with “A Witches’ Sabbath,” written by Hector Berlioz and arranged by Deborah Baker Monday, and featured Sophomore Rex Garner on piano, and members of the Evergreen Percussion once again. That final song had a very eerie tone to it at points, and certainly lived up to its spooky title. When asked what her favorite song performed by Chamber Strings was, orchestra teacher Leah Weitzsacker said, “I think my favorite was actually L’estro Armonico that they directed themselves, in part because they were able to direct themselves, that’s part of the goal.”
Overall, it was a lovely show, and both groups performed amazingly. Weitzsacker said about both groups that “they’re just going to keep getting more put together as a group and work better as a cohesive unit.” Based on this performance alone, I cannot wait to see how the Greenwood Orchestra and the Chamber Strings improve throughout the year, and I am excited to see what else they may have in store.
