“Where words fail, music speaks,” the author Hans Christian Anderson said. The Highland High Orchestra showed their musical success at the annual winter concert this year.
On December 11, the Highland Orchestra hosted a concert to showcase the work they have done this year. There was a total of 8 songs from holiday pieces to classical pieces. The concert featured the String Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Soloists.
This year, the conductor Curtis Black, decided to slightly change the Winter concert. Traditionally, the String and the Symphony orchestras would only play group pieces. This year, Black decided he wanted to feature seniors and have a mini concerto night.
The featured seniors were Talmage Rose playing the cello piece, “Selections from Elgar Cello Concerto”, Kaylyn Mitchell playing “Theme from Schindler’s List” on the violin, and Eva Zemp playing “Teleman Viola Concerto Movement IV” on the viola.
The soloists played their pieces, and the Symphony orchestra accompanied them. Black has been thinking about doing this for a while, but he finally found a good time to do it this year.
“A lot of schools have a dedicated concerto night, and it is a really great way to feature some of your most hardworking kids,” Black said. “I’ve never known where to put it in the year because I am so busy with other concerts, and I am in charge of so many different things.”
The music program at Highland is very busy with events throughout the year like concerts, playing in the school musical, tours and competitions. Even with such a busy schedule, they put a lot of preparation into this concert.
The Highland Orchestra is a welcoming place, Black is always looking for new people to join in.
“I just want people to know that I am looking for those people who are in private lessons and maybe haven’t done orchestra before,” Black said. “They are welcome to come meet me and try out.”
If anyone is interested in joining the orchestra program reach out to Black for more details.
