The orchestra’s annual winter concert will take place Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. 

This year, the concert will look different as the choir will not be featured, shifting the focus to small ensembles, something orchestra director Julie Daniels hopes will help the players shine. 

“Sitting in a full orchestra, we don’t get to recognize the great talent that we have in the group,” Daniels said. “I thought this would be a great opportunity for some of my players to really be able to work intensively in a small ensemble and show off some of their expressiveness and talent.”

The new approach to the concert offers students opportunities to grow as musicians.

“[It] gives them a whole different experience,” Daniels said. “It teaches them more in-depth musicality and how to really listen across the section. I say this all the time, ‘You don’t come to orchestra rehearsal to learn your part, you come to orchestra rehearsal to learn everyone else’s part.’ That is a small ensemble—you learn where your part fits with everyone else.”

In addition to performing small ensembles, Daniels also allowed students to choose their own music for the concert.

“Each of the small ensembles brings to the stage something a little bit different,” Daniels said. “I let them rehearse what they wanted to play, and this has given them a lot more excitement and engagement, because this is something that they want to play.”

Freshman varsity choir member Brie Cai was able to choose Waltz of the Flowers as her piece, something she’s been wanting to play for a long time.

“It feels really exciting and a little nerve-wracking,” Cai said. “I got to pick a piece I’ve been wanting to play, and my twin sister Bella is conducting it so I hope the audience notices the teamwork and effort that goes into every piece and truly enjoy the music we make.”

Playing this piece has pushed a few out of their comfort zone, including junior harpist Tiffany Lee, as she’s found a new approach to music through it.

“Learning this piece influenced me not to play just straight off the page looking at note by note but to be tasteful by using dynamics [or] utilizing pauses,” Lee said. “I hope that the audience can enjoy the music, but I’d also appreciate it if they noticed how the harp sets up the start of the waltz [as] the cadenza leads everyone into the first big entrance. It’s a small moment, but it helps the whole piece open up.”

With students allowed to choose the music they perform, the audience gets to hear pieces beyond the usual Christmas and Nutcracker songs.

“It’s a mix of a little bit of everything,” Daniels said. “We are covering a lot of the Nutcracker but also some really great pieces like A Million Dreams from the Greatest Showman and Hal’s Castle. That’s one of the great things about letting the kids choose their music [as] my students have a very diverse sense of what’s entertaining and exciting for them to learn.”

Senior varsity orchestra member Katie Park finds the concert nostalgic each year, but notes that the new format has led to unforeseen challenges.

“Getting to focus solely on our orchestra music [this year] has definitely been a different experience,” Park said. “The most challenging part of preparing for this concert has definitely been the ensemble. Choosing the music was difficult and trying to balance each instrument’s sounds has been extremely time consuming.”

Finding places with good acoustics and limited distractions for students to practice with their small ensembles during the day was the greatest challenge. 

“I’ve had to run people out of rooms because we don’t have any practice rooms,” Daniels said. “

I [had] to tell [the] people who [were] in there, doing homework or working on something else, ‘I’m sorry, my students need this space to rehearse.’”

Preparing for the concert was challenging, but Daniels hopes the audience notices each instrument’s melodies and enjoys the fun, nostalgic music the students showcase.

“[People] may come expecting one thing, and get a completely different vibe,” Daniels said. “We’re bringing a lot more music to the stage, but just in a different capacity, in a different format. It’s gonna be fun, uplifting, it’s gonna be great!”