As the judges took their seats and sharpened their pencils, the Phoenix Chamber Orchestra waited patiently on stage. The appointed judges for the evening were musicians Heather Austin-Stone, Earle Perez, and Andrew Nixon, who were invited and volunteered to help simulate the judging the group will face going into District Assessment on March 3 at Lightridge High School.

Following the go-ahead signal from the readied judges, conductor Teresa Gordon signaled the ensemble to strike the first chord.

The ensemble opened the night with their warm-up piece titled “Overture to William Tell Finale,” arranged by Rossini and Dackow. Under the direction of their conductor, the group engaged their minds and instruments so they could be well-calibrated before playing their second and third pieces. Junior concertmaster Claire Cho’s role was to lead the orchestra by uniting them through sound, unlike a conductor’s role to lead the orchestra through direction. “I think that our introductory piece, ‘William Tell Overture,’ was the best one,” Cho said. 

Shortly after some scribbling of comments by the judges, the ensemble began their second piece titled “Ad Astra,” arranged by Richard Meyer. The judges gave constructive criticism of the group’s performance. but appreciated their ability to execute the music as written. “I really liked ‘Ad Astra’ by Richard Meyer,” judge Austin-Stone said. 

To end the concert, the group played their final piece, “All the Things,” arranged by Brian Balmages. The three pieces were brief, but the musicians had clear takeaways from this trial performance. “I think there’s a lot of room for improvement,” Cho said. The difficulty of performing music as a group accurately, as it is composed, is something the ensemble is determined to work towards in the days leading up to the actual assessment. “I think that our focus will definitely be trying to play together,” Cho said. “I think we do fine as sections, but when we play together, it is kind of hard.” 

The main reason for having a preparatory concert like this one is to allow musicians to display the pieces they have been practicing in a more serious setting, separate from a rehearsal or classtime. First chair cellist senior Sydney Pascual performed  at her second and final pre-assessment concert this year. “I think it is just a chance to have similar pressure,” Pascual said. “Obviously it’s not the same, but the judges will be in attendance. I think it is a way to deal with pressure better when the actual assessment does come.”

As musicians themselves, the judges are aware of how useful the pre-assessment concert can be for an ensemble, who is preparing for their most crucial performance of the year. “I think it puts pressure on them,” Austin-Stone said. “Being up there, running through the pieces, being in their concert clothes, it gives them the feeling that ‘okay, we have to do this.’ When there is pressure on them, they make mistakes they might not ordinarily make, so it shows the weaknesses that need improvement.”

The Phoenix Chamber Orchestra received an overall score of 2 — excellent — during their performance assessment on Mar. 3rd.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Anik Mridha

Junior violinist Sam Cho scans his eyes across the measures of notes within his sheet music to follow along with his part.