Every winter at the middle school campus, Harvard Westlake (HW) has an instrumental concert featuring the different middle school bands and orchestras, ranging from Beginning Band to Middle School Symphony.
The whole middle school was given a special teaser featuring pieces from some of the more advanced bands, like Symphonic Band and Symphony. A couple days later, everyone performed at the actual show, on December 13, in the Saperstein Theater to a full audience.
The concert as a whole was titled “Magic of Music,” and all the different musical groups played a variety of pieces. There were six different orchestras/bands, with the first three performances by various levels of “Bands,” and the last three by two levels of “Strings,” followed by the most advanced orchestra, The Middle School Symphony.
The show started off strongly with Beginning Band performing pieces Ode to Joy, Sakura Sakura, a Japanese Folk Song, and more. The performance was lighthearted and calming and the audience enjoyed seeing the newly experienced performers demonstrate their talent in band.
Proceeding this performance group, was the concert band who gracefully displayed the classic The Great Gate of Kiev fr. Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsk. Following this, the musicians elegantly played Pax by Catherine McMichael, gradually intensifying with the music as the song went on.
The concert continued with the Symphonic Band that played Winter Milky Way by Yukiko Nishimura, putting the audience in the holiday spirit. Following that, melodic performances of Larry Clark’s Dance of the Harlequins and Steve Hodges’ Glacier Bay were played.
After a brief intermission, the Beginning Strings started the second half with a pleasant performance of First Scale March by Mark Williams with the famed Ode To Joy from Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven following.The performance was delightful, showcasing the beginning students talent.
Concert Strings performed right after, demonstrating their elegant musical skills, playing Dance of the Tumblers fr. The Snow Maiden by Rimsky-Korsakof proceeded by much more. The songs were quite entertaining, with the audience thoroughly enjoying it.
Last to perform was the most advanced orchestra, the Middle School Symphony. A highlight of their performance was the renowned Nutcracker Ballet by Peter Ilyich Tchaikowsky. With so many talented students playing, the performance was lively and very enjoyable.
As a whole, the winter music instrumental concert lived up to its name. All of the performances really showcased the students talent, with many wonderful pieces being played.
