Hays High School’s orchestra program finished their last concerts of the year in April and May.
First was the All-City Strings Concert, which took place in the Maroon Gym on April 27.
Concert Orchestra played many pieces, including Beethoven’s 5th Symphony “Ludwig’s Tango,” Irish folk tune “Down by the Salley Gardens” and Katy Perry’s “Firework.” Symphony Orchestra played “Farandole” from the opera “Carmen” and a piece from the movie “How to Train Your Dragon.” For this concert, they also played a combined piece with Grades 5-12, “Dvorak’s 9th Symphony.”
“The performance at All-City was an excellent demonstration of how much the program is growing,” orchestra director Brayden Smith said. “It showed off the progress of the students from beginners to advanced and was one of the best performances by the Symphony Orchestra so far. The music was difficult, but the students were able to perform it with accuracy and enthusiasm. Preparing for All-City is always a lot of work. It involves combining roughly 250 students and takes a lot of out of school time to prepare the students for the event.”
The second concert was the Masterworks Concert on May 9 in the Performing Arts Center.
Chamber Orchestra played the entirety of “Dvorak’s 9th Symphony” and pieces by David Lang and Alberto Grau.
“Overall, this season has been such a triumph for the orchestra program,” Smith said. “We have persevered through a lot of busy schedules, new building issues and challenging music. The reward for this has been a season full of exceptional music-making, and I am so proud of all the students and their performances this year.”
