Orchestra Welcomes Dublin Musicians

Mariel Rossi deVries, staff writer

Orchestra held a Winter Concert on February 18, featuring both Campolindo students and a small number of guest musicians from Dublin high school and various Dublin middle schools.

Due to their program’s small size, the Dublin High School orchestra invited all musicians from grades 6 through 12 in its district to participate. Their instructor, Paul Everts, conducted them through performances of Pagodas, Antonio Vivaldi, and L’Estro Arminico, revealing a wide breadth of styles.

The goal for Dublin orchestra’s appearance was to offer a performance venue for their students, while also enticing them to continue with music in high school. “It was to raise awareness for them so that more people will join their orchestra,” said Campolindo violin player Andrew Yoo.

After Dubin played their set, the Campolinod orchestra performed.

“My favorite piece was the Haydn because it was really fun to play it and it was interesting with all of the movements,” said Yoo.

Johnny Johnson, Campolindo music instructor, guided his musicians through renditions of “London” and a Symphony by Haydn.

Admission to the performance was free. Part of the purpose of the event was to practice for Campolindo’s upcoming trip to the International Music Festival in Chicago, where they will perform with other groups from across the country.

“Every day in orchestra class we practice the songs for the concert and occasionally we have morning rehearsals or lunch rehearsals,” said Yoo.

While the Campolindo musicians had ample time to rehearse their own set, the portion of the performance with the Dublin players was almost impromptu. Bryan Kikugawa said that “maybe more practice with them would have made it better, but it turned out alright.”

Near the end of the performance, Johnson stopped the band and announced that the 2 schools would play the next pieces together. In order to accommodate all of the musicians, many had to stand as they played.

“They were a small group and fit in quite well,” said Kikugawa of his Dublin counterparts.

“Preparing was mentally a bit challenging because its a concert so you’re stressed out about making mistakes. You just have to calm yourself and tell yourself that everything is going to be fine and the practice is going to pay off, which it did,” said Kikugawa.