According to orchestra director Miriam Edgar, the orchestra district festival is an annual concert between all ages of the St. Louis Park orchestra program, from fourth grade to 12th grade.

Senior bassist and violinist Jake Dempsey said the orchestra district festival is important because it fosters a sense of unity throughout the orchestra program.

“I think it helps build community,” Dempsey said. “I remember when I was in fourth, fifth grade, it was really cool seeing the older kids play because it’s so impressive when you’re that young.”

According to Dempsey, the music the high school orchestra performed was successfully put together because of all of the extra attention they gave their pieces.

“Some of our pieces we played while we were in Hawaii,” Dempsey said. “We had a master class with a professor from the University of Hawaii and that helped a lot.”

Edgar said though the students had fun, the district festival is a parent favorite.

“I know parents really enjoy this concert just because you get to see all the different levels and what a difference there is between playing levels,” Edgar said.

According to Edgar, the concert focuses on unity between the district’s orchestra programs.

“We always play a piece with everybody, and I know it’s not everybody’s favorite part of the concert, but I know parents really enjoy having our whole district play a song together,” Edgar said.

Dempsey said though they knew their pieces well, there were some problems with the sound quality in the gym.

“The dynamics in the gym are really weird compared to our normal dynamics in our orchestra room,” Dempsey said. “It’s always weird transitioning from a very enclosed space to a very open one because it really messes up your sound. I think a little bit more practice in the gym always helps.”

According to Edgar, the concert motivates the younger orchestras by showing them what they can accomplish if they stay in the program.

“It’s actually my favorite concert that we do,” Edgar said. “I think it’s a good way to measure that our district is actually doing something with our program.”