By Nisah Allauddin

Upper School Orchestra performing. Photo credit: Taylor Dabney.

The smooth A note filled the room as the whole orchestra tuned their instruments. Next came D, G, then E for the violins, and C for the violas. The audience became silent, and all attention was on the musicians on stage.

On Thursday, November 10, Collegiate’s Viridaur, Orchestra, Jazz Band, and Choir performed in the Upper School Fall Concert to showcase the pieces they have learned to play over the course of the semester. Since the first day of school, student musicians have met during Z period to learn and rehearse. In Collegiate’s music classes, students develop skills in keeping tempo, staying in tune, and playing alongside other musicians. Violinist Madeline Port (‘23) said, “The Z period every day is a nice interlude between academic courses. I love that. I love being with orchestra members.” Port is the Orchestra’s Concertmaster, the musician that leads the players throughout the concert. As a violin player myself, and a member of the Orchestra, I find that in between rigorous academic classes, it helps to have a pleasant class throughout the day. Of course, Orchestra is demanding work, but it is a creative outlet as well. As Band Director Karl von Klein says, “Whenever you sit down and play music, you can tap into whatever you are feeling.”

With the departure of the class of 2022 and a few other musicians, the Orchestra is smaller than last year’s, yet it still sounds rich and mature. The Orchestra is made up of Viridaur, Jazz Band, and other Collegiate musicians who all come to play together. The Jazz Band is a smaller section of the Orchestra, with only band instrument players, and Vidiraur consists of only string instruments. The class of 2026 has many musicians, making this year’s Orchestra mainly a younger group. 

At the Fall Concert, Collegiate’s Viridaur opened the performance with a tango piece, “Libertango,” written by Astor Piazzolla, which they also performed in the Upper School Thanksgiving Assembly on Nov. 22. Piazzolla, an Argentinian, wrote mainly jazz and tango pieces. Piazzolla’s tango pieces are a mix of complex melodies and rhythms designed to go along to a dance. Viridaur excelled in playing the piece; the violins and viola responded to each other throughout. When the violins finished a section of the melody, the violas would respond with dramatic legato, or long and slow notes. The cello was played by Orchestra Director Melissa Jones, leaving the piece to be performed undirected, and the percussion tied the piece together by giving it a more traditional tango sound.

This year, Viridaur consists of nine string players. Such a small group puts more responsibility on each player, and the group is more reliant on each person to sound better. Port claims that “It feels like, in some ways, a bigger responsibility to be senior when there aren’t as many of us, and each person is heard even more.” Port hopes to be a leader and role model for younger musicians. Port said, “I was always looking for guidance, and I’m hoping I can help provide that guidance, but there are also people I still look to help me out, and I enjoy that collaborative experience.”

Another piece in the Fall Concert was “Bessie’s Blues,” by jazz saxophone legend John Coltrane, which was directed by von Klein. Coltrane was an extremely accomplished composer and saxophone player who wrote “Bessie’s Blues” as a traditional jazz piece. The piece started off with Eve Clemens (‘24) on the electric guitar. Her solo was outstanding, and it consisted of her playing mostly steady slow notes that allowed her guitar’s vibrations to stand out. Several people began tapping their feet or rocking their head when Clemens played, and she is a great addition to the group.

The Jazz band comprises four musicians: Clemens, Eleanor Qureshi (’26), Matthew Woodhouse (’23), and Sammy Robinson (’26). Even with a limited number of musicians, von Klein has perfectly organized the Jazz Band, and the players sound wonderful. Clemens, a new member of the band, said, “I think it is worth my time, because it is something that isn’t necessarily academic, but it blends different intellectual and creative aspects in a way that makes it fun and enjoyable enough to be worth my time.”

After the two small groups played, the Upper Schools Orchestra played. This is the largest musical group in the Upper School, and they opened with a robust piece called “Engines of Resistance” by Larry Clark. “Engines of Resistance” consists of heavy percussion and fast violin notes. Woodhouse (‘23), the drummer, was unfazed by the skills required from the percussion for this piece, saying he “doesn’t even need to look at the music” to play the quick notes. Despite being an easier piece for some members, it provided a powerful start to that portion of the concert. 

The Orchestra then moved on to “Gymnopédie No. 1” by French composer Erik Satie. In 1811, Satie wrote three “Gymnopédies,” all for piano. No.1 and No.3 were later rewritten for orchestra by Claude Debussy. What stood out in this piece was harpist Finley Wittkamp (‘26). With the addition of the harp, the piece was elevated and was composed as a soft and calming piece. Wittkamp said, “Gymnopédie is one of my favorite pieces I have played in a while. Triplets are one thing that I have always loved to play. I also love how it gave me the opportunity to show the range of the harp. The hardest part of this piece was trying to be the loudest person playing. I am used to playing with other harpists, making it easier to bring out the sound, but I enjoyed this challenge!” 

First violin section performing. Photo credit: Taylor Dabney.

The Orchestra’s final piece was “Danse Bacchanale” by Camille Saints-Saens, an outstanding piece that showed off the skills of the all the musicians. The piece opened up with a solo from Port, who said, “I was surprised by the fact that I felt my solo was successful. Especially as a solo that is not necessarily rhythmic or clean cut. It was more my choice, and that made it difficult, in my opinion. I find freedom in violin to be a little bit scary. I enjoyed the solo, and I think it went better in the concert than in the assembly.” “Danse Bacchanale” was the hardest piece, with difficult rhythms, maintaining dynamics, and some problems in shiftings for violins. However, the orchestra managed to maintain a fast tempo.

I have been playing in Collegiate’s Orchestra since second grade, and I have always found Orchestra to be a relaxing part of my day. I learned to be more grateful for the Orchestra when we started playing pieces from West Side Story, my favorite movie, because when the variety of instruments needed for the piece were put together, I realized how incredibly mature we sounded  for our age group. 

Featured image credit: Terra Nova Violins.