Orcas public school student musicians from the fifth through eighth grades (88 in all) will bring their voices and instruments together for a spring concert on Thursday, May 14, at 7 p.m. in the Orcas High School Gym. Music Directors Pamela Wright (strings and choir) and Darren Dix (band) have planned an excellent musical program with a wide variety of numbers. This concert is free and open to the public.
This is the first in a trio of concerts by Orcas music students this spring. The kindergarten to fourth grade concert will take place on Thursday, May 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the Old Gym. The Orcas High School Band and Strings will perform at Orcas Center on Thursday, June 4, at 7:00 p.m.
The 15-member fifth grade band will have the audience chuggin’ down the railroad track with their performances of “Down by the Station” (the children’s music standard) and “All Aboard.” They will also perform a beautiful chorale. The sixth grade band, the largest band in the school at 19 members, will present the magical music of Glenn Miller with Moonlight Serenade, arranged by Ralph Ford, and Two Canadian Folk Songs, arranged by Anne McGinty.
The Middle School Band, with 16 players, will perform the challenging Antecedium by Ed Huckeby, which combines a high energy allegro section with an eloquent adagio movement. In their performance of Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, arranged by John Wasson, you will swear you can hear the trolls creeping up on Peer Gynt. Finally, their performance of the vibrant Appalachian Expedition celebrates the achievement of hiking that monumental trail.
The fifth and sixth Grade Choir, eight members strong, will sing “Sunshine and Music,” the 1950s rock n’ roll hit “Rockin’ Robin,” “Gone, Gone, Gone” (American Idol winner Phillip Phillips chart-topping love song), and the Grammy-nominated “Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie.
The fifth and sixth Grade Strings (17 young string players) will play the haunting “Ancient Mother,” a Native American folk song arranged by Deborah Baker Monday, Telemann’s regal Minuet, and one of the most loved early American folksongs – the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts.”
The Middle School Strings (13 members) will play J.S. Bach’s March from the” Little Notebook of Anna Magdalena,” a beautiful string ensemble arrangement of a Brahms Waltz, and a favorite of the group – an original composition by former Orcas Island resident and Olga Symphony member Dave Parish, entitled “Rainy with Sun Breaks.”
It should be noted that the group played Parish’s piece at a regional music contest recently and won a “Superior” rating, the highest award granted to competitors.
