The Middle School orchestra of 16 players (9 of which are 6th graders) filled the auditorium with a robust sound that equaled a high school group twice its size which preceded it on stage. They played "Mystical Towers" by Jeremy Woolstenhulme, "Brandenburg Concerto #3" by J. S. Bach, arranged by Merle J Isaac, and "Themes from the 'New World Symphony'" as arranged by Carrie Lane Gruselle. Their strong playing helped make up for some ensemble problems at a few points during the performance and they received an overall grade of Superior from the two judges. The group was quite surprised to find over 100 listeners in the audience when they came on stage and showed excellent poise and control under pressure.

 

The Upper School Orchestra of 15 players performed in the afternoon and made quite a splash performing three movements of the "Five Pieces for String Orchestra" by Paul Hindemith. One teacher from another school was so captivated by the music that he had to poke his head into the warmup room to find out the title of the piece. The group also played "Hungarian Dance #5" by Johannes Brahms and "Mystical Towers" by Jeremy Woolstenhume. The auditorium was completely full of other school orchestras and Stadium students for this performance and the focus of the orchestra was at a very high level. They received Superior marks across all catagories. The judge that worked with them in the clinic after the performance stated that she was dubious of the group's unique instrumentation at first glance but was quickly won over by their lovely blend of tones and unified sense of ensemble.

 

This was the first time in four years that AWS has participated in this event and all the students did a remarkable job.