Photo by Sarah Morales
A piece by Sarah Morales
As the lights dim, the conductor raises his hands to cue a stage full of musicians and a silent hush falls over the audience. Sixty students take a simultaneous breath before music starts to fill the auditorium.
The concert has begun.
After auditioning in November, 25 students from both JV and Varsity Orchestra preformed in the Reagan High School Auditorium Dec 8.
For many kids, the auditions were more nerve wracking than the concert itself.
“If you mess up on stage, you have 18 other violins covering for you,” junior Frank DiRosa said. “During the audition, if you mess up, you don’t make the orchestra. Getting the music, auditioning, the performance all play into it. The concert is fun, but I’ve just liked the solo feel more than anything else.”
But to many students, the hard audition process was well worth it.
“I’m glad I tried out my senior year because all the other times, I didn’t make it,” senior Stephen Botts said. “It was uplifting to make it my senior year.”
The students had a 2 hour rehearsal on Friday night and spent 11 hours at Reagan before the concert in order to prepare, leaving them exhausted.
“It was fun,” junior Danylle Hernandez said. “But it was hard. I wanted to lay down and take a nap.”
Though the preparation took hours and left the musicians exhausted, everyone exited the stage with a smile on their face.
“It’s a good feeling to be surrounded by people who truly want to perform their best,” Botts said.
