The annual All City Strings concert was on April 28 at Hays High School, where orchestras from Grades 5-12 performed pieces. In addition to the concert itself, before the performances, there were lawn games, face painting and concessions.
It started with the fifth-grade orchestra playing a D flat major scale, “Snake Charmer” arranged by the middle school orchestra director Nathan Mark and “Scotland’s Burning.”
Then, Orchestras 1 and 2 from the middle school played “Halloween Theme” by John Carpenter and arranged by Micheal Story and “Dragon Hunter” by Richard Meyer. Orchestras 3 and 4 from the middle school followed them and played “Voyager” by Soon Hee Newbold and “Serendipity Suite” by Richard Meyer, with the suites being “Fit as a Fiddle,” “So La Viola,” “Cello Pudding” and “Oasis for Basses.”
Next, the high school Concert Orchestra performed “Chasing the Storm” by Deborah Baker Monday, “Little Symphony” by Carold Nunez and “Shut Up and Dance” by WALK THE MOON and arranged by Micheal Story.
The last group was the high school Symphony Orchestra, which played “Swan Lake Suite, Scene No. 1” by Tchaikovsky, “For Good” by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel arranged by James Kazik with soloists seniors Caleb King, Julia Kuhl and Christan Miller and “Finlandia” by Sibelius.
“I felt that the concert was a great success,” high school orchestra director Brayden Smith said. “The atmosphere was lively and enjoyable while the music-making was absolutely fantastic.”
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