Orchestra director Kou Lee said the St. Louis Park chamber orchestra community concert tour is a good opportunity for the group members to bond.

“Every time a group or an ensemble goes on a trip, they get that bonding time, community time,” Lee said. “I think it’s just a great experience playing for people and giving back that way.”

According to sophomore Amara Foner who is an orchestra council public relations officer and librarian, as well as a violist and cellist, the holiday tour was a nice way of giving back to the community while still benefiting the students.

“I think (the performances) went pretty good,” Foner said. “It’s really nice that we can go around and see different communities and play music for them in whatever situations they’re in.”

Foner said the proximity of the concert to popular holidays added to the overall experience.

“It’s nice to be able to share music and around the holiday season. It’s nice as well to be able to play a variety of music like Christmas and Hanukkah music,” Foner said. “It was really fun, I enjoyed it.”

According to sophomore violinist Iris Wallestead, field trips like the one on Dec. 6 are one of the best parts of chamber orchestra.

“We play really fun music and also we get to go on field trips like we did,” Wallestead said. “We get to play for patients at a hospital and we get to spread joy around. That’s always so much fun.”

Foner said the group’s performance in the cancer center at Methodist Hospital stood out to her the most.

“I liked Methodist Hospital, mostly because it wasn’t really a formal audience,” Foner said. “It was more like who was passing by and if they wanted to stop and listen or record or ask some questions (they could).”

According to Lee, the tour is just as much about the audience as it is about the performers.

“(The students) are very talented and they’ve worked very hard,” Lee said. “They come to school so early. It’s hard for me to get up and I can tell it’s hard for them to get up. I just want to show off what they’re able to do.”

Wallestead said the best part of the performances was the positive reception the ensemble received from their audiences.

“My favorite part was definitely seeing the reactions on the people’s faces when we got to play. At Methodist Hospital, when we were playing the lobby, a bunch of people that were just walking by kind of stopped and just watched our entire performance,” Wallestead said. “It’s just not something you see every day, and I thought that was pretty cool.”

According to Foner, Sharei Chesed congregation and Methodist Hospital were a significant change of pace from what the chamber orchestra is used to.

“Usually our performances are in front of a formal audience especially with concerts and stuff, but when we’re able to play at Methodist Hospital, it’s nice to just be playing background music,” Foner said. “People are doing things around us but we’re sharing music for them.”

The St. Louis Park orchestra alumni concert is at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 in the high school auditorium, according to Lee.