Costa orchestras hosts Chamber concert

ANNUAL CONCERT: Orchestra director Peter Park (left) leads the chamber orchestra through its song “Serenade for Strings.” Both orchestra groups have been preparing since March. Photo by Jenna Walter/La Vista

By Jenna Walter

Executive Theme Editor

Costa’s Music Department presented its second-annual Chamber Strings concert on May 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the small theater.

The Chamber Strings concert was composed of performances from Costa’s two smallest orchestra groups, Chamber Orchestra and Sinfonietta Orchestra. The individual performances were followed by a combined piece, “Central Coach Special,” by Calvin Custer, that included members of both groups.

Peter Park warms up students for their preformace.

“I enjoyed playing Visions and Miracles because it is a fast and contemporary piece,” said junior violinist Grace Chen. “It’s also great to be playing more repertoire and playing a combined piece with [the Sinfonietta Orchestra] to end the concert.”

The Sinfonietta Orchestra began the concert with “Of Glorious Plumage,” by Richard Meyer. The group also performed “Symphony No. 86,” by Joseph Haydn, and “O Beautiful,” by Katharine Lee Bates.

“[Both the Sinfonietta and Chamber Orchestras] have been working with these pieces since March at the [Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association] festival, where we played pieces for adjudicators,” said Chen. “We’ve worked on these pieces for quite a while, and both groups have prepped quite a while for this concert.”

Orchestra plays their song “Serenade for Strings”

The Chamber Orchestra then played “Serenade for Strings, Movements I-IV,” by Pyotr Llych Tchaikovsky, and “Visions and Miracles, Movement III,” by Christopher Theofanidis. According to senior violist Katherine Mueller, the technique and skill required to play such pieces is shown off through the smaller concert venue and longer playing time that each group receives.

“I’m definitely excited [for the concert], especially because it will be my second to last concert ever with the orchestra,” said Mueller before the concert. “I think people will enjoy our music. I really enjoy playing the Tchaikovsky Serenade because we’re playing through the whole thing, which we didn’t do when I was in lower-level orchestras.”

Both Orchestra groups have been preparing since march for their preformace.

Admission to the Chamber Strings concert was free to the general public. According to Mueller, the lesser capacity of the small theater compared to the auditorium contributed to a smaller, more intimate concert setting.

Sinfonietta preforms “Of Glorious Plumage”

“The Chamber Strings concert is a smaller group, and the audience tends to be a group that’s really enthusiastic about watching string performances because it’s mainly family and friends,” said Mueller. “It’s more of an intimate concert.”

Costa’s orchestra program plans to host a Pops Concert on June 9. The Pops Concert will take place in the auditorium and include both band and orchestra students, providing a contrast to the smaller Chamber Strings concert.

“I can’t wait for the Pops concert because [the Costa orchestra program] hasn’t had a Pops concert in several years,” said Chen. “It’s a very fun concert program in which [audience members] get to hear movie music. The pieces are very fun and moving and are more well-known.”