Costa junior Emily Angstreich performed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

By Nick Lee

Copy Editor

From concert halls in Germany to churches in Austria, junior Emily Angstreich has played her flute all over the world and recently, she performed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Angstreich is a member of the Colburn Youth Orchestra, a performing arts institution based in downtown Los Angeles. This past December, Angstreich and her orchestra of around 70 members performed pieces at the LACMA Bing Theater.

Link: The LACMA’s Sunday Night Live has videos of a number of performances including The Colburn Youth Orchestra.

“The experience was really neat because it gave me a taste of what a professional concert is like,” Angstreich said. “It was also really rewarding to see all of mine and my fellow members hard work pay off.

Photos: Costa junior Emily Angstreich performed at Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The orchestra performance last for around an hour and included pieces such as “The Firebird Suite” by Stravinsky, “Prelude to Afternoon of a Faun” by Claude Debussy and “Die Meistersinger” by Richard Wagner.

“‘The second movement of The Firebird Suite’ was one of the most challenging parts for any orchestra to play, and learning it in just three months made it even harder,” Angstreich said.  

Every Sunday night, LACMA invites musical groups to come in and play called “Sunday Night’s Live with LACMA”. They asked Colburn if they wanted to play and the school accepted. The museum also recorded the performance and uploaded it on their website.

“We practiced for the concert every Sunday,” Angstreich said. “It was pretty difficult to practice when I had other concerts going on as well as marching band.”

Along with participating in Mira Costa’s Band Honors per Ensemble, Angstreich has been playing for the Colburn Youth Orchestra since Freshman year as one of four flute players in the ensemble.

“My flute teacher found the orchestra and encouraged me to try out,” Angstreich said. “I auditioned with 50-60 others and I was fortunate enough to be accepted”

The Colburn Youth Orchestra has three performances left this year in March, April and May. The performances include one more at LACMA as well as one at Zipper Hall located in Downtown Los Angeles.

“I enjoy being around musicians who are dedicated and serious about playing music like I am,” Angstreich said.  “Many of these people have even become my best friends.”

Angstreich plans to continue playing at Costa and hopes to play in college and one day play flute professionally in an ensemble. She has received support from friends and family as well as her instructor, said Angstreich.

Link: The Colburn School of Arts is a performing arts institution school located in Downtown Los Angeles.

“I want to always play flute in my life and in college I intend to either double major or minor in music,” Angstreich said. “Next year I hope to continue to participate in the school’s marching band, wind symphony, and symphony orchestra as well as Colburn.”