With a culmination of the hard work that started at the beginning of the school year, the Green Hope Orchestra performed their first Halloween themed concert of the year. Among the students who performed that night were Kashvi Kumar (‘28) and Kristin Crump (‘26).
Kumar, a freshman at Green Hope and cellist, was the section leader for the symphony orchestra. She talked about how they prepared for the concert and discussed the decision making process of the pieces chosen for the concert. Kumar said, “Rehearsals mostly consisted of full ensemble practice, but we also broke off into groups to do sectionals for each instrument.”
During rehearsals, Kumar worked with the other cellists and made sure everyone understood what was happening by writing down any important notes. Crump, the first violinist in the concert, explained that they have been practicing since the beginning of the year. “Practicing and polishing is important. We also rehearsed concert etiquette in a dress rehearsal…but most of our time was spent with the music,” Crump said.
Both Kumar and Crump expressed an appreciation for Battle by Sook Hee Newbold, which was played during the concert. “The violinists hit their instruments on the fingerboard and base, making different percussive sounds which made the piece sound overall really cool… This was definitely one of my favorites,” stated Kumar. “The percussion and fast melodies were fun to play and sounded epic!” Crump added.
Although the symphony orchestra didn’t play “Halloween” themed pieces, all of the orchestra pieces contained Halloween elements. Another song presented at the concert was Goblins and Ghouls by composer Katie O’hara LaBrie and was played by the chamber orchestra. This piece had a lot of percussion to highlight the “magical and mystical” themes. Kashvi said, “There were also many harmonies-such as minor chords and dissonant sounds.” During the performance,orchestra members stood across the auditorium and screamed during specific segments to enhance the audience’s experience as a part of the concert. Additionally, one student wore a mask and ran across the stage throughout the performance.
The overall concert theme was displayed through the selection of pieces. Crump said, “Battle reflected an ancient war and Crisantemi was a piece of mourning…each selection contributed to the variety of the concert.” After weeks of practice, the Orchestra was able to put on a performance that reflected all their hard work and practice. Kumar explains, “We had to overcome many challenges in our pieces, but we did…I think the performance on Thursday reflected that really well.”
The Green Hope’s Orchestral performance was a display of all the hard work and dedication put in by students like Kashvi Kumar and Kristin Crump. The concert was not only a reflection of the collective efforts from the student, but also the carefully selected pieces that embodied the Halloween theme of the concert.
