Orchestra prepares for spring concert
Students spring towards final concert of the year
Freshman Thomas Hanson plays bass during orchestra practice May 9. Orchestra is practicing in preparation for its spring concert May 30.
May 20, 2019
As junior bassist Mitchell VonEschen looks forward to his first spring concert, he reflects on the preparation the orchestra has been doing for the performance. “We are practicing our songs in class,” VonEschen said. “I think it will be good.”
According to orchestra director Kou Lee, the class can’t prioritize the concert too much which could create challenges for the performance.
“We’re just basically rehearsing as much as we can and splitting the time between doing exercises for our final and time we spend rehearsing,” Lee said. “Normally we do a mass rehearsal and we have kids come down from their periods to rehearse but I’m not doing that this year so I think not having the chance to play as a group is going to be hard.”
Lee said he’s most looking forward to the awards portion of the night.
“(I’m excited for) some of the awards and the senior recognition,” Lee said. “There’s the National (School) Orchestra Award and that’s given to one senior, and the award goes to the person that gets selected by members, and then there’s The Director’s Award which I choose.”
According to VonEschen, despite potential difficulties, he’s excited about the upcoming orchestra concert.
“This is my first year in orchestra. I don’t really know what the final concert is like,” VonEschen said. “We’re going to play some songs that we haven’t played for awhile in class but I think those weren’t too hard for us.”
Lee said the concert will feature a throwback piece from the alumni concert he can’t wait to hear.
“I’m excited. We’re playing some very nice music, and I brought back a piece that I think really shows the growth of the orchestra and the students,” Lee said. “That’s a piece that we did for the alumni concert and that will be our final piece, so I’m excited for that too.”
According to the St. Louis Park High School website, the orchestra concert will be 7 p.m. May 30 in the Auditorium.
