On Tuesday, Feb. 6, the Chamber advanced and artist orchestra students performed a pre-assessment concert in preparation for their final assessment at Lightridge High School on March 1. With three judges positioned throughout the auditorium, the two groups performed three pieces each to receive feedback on what to improve on.

Concertmaster for the artist orchestra, senior Rohan Santosh looks forward to the judges critiques in order to improve the group’s overall sound. “They have a bunch of categories that they grade numerically and the main thing that we got to work on is intonation, which is essentially how the notes sound and how [correct] they are,” Santosh said. “[It’s] especially hard because a lot of our pieces are fast and in the heat of the moment you can easily trip up.”

To begin the concert, the advanced orchestra, mainly consisting of underclassmen, started their repertoire with a warm up of “Dragon Slayer” by Rob Grice. With a dramatic tone resembling medieval times, the piece featured a perfect culmination of the string instruments to set the group on the right track. The younger group then went on to play their first piece: “Appalachian Sunrise” by Doris Gazda. With vibrant harmonies, the advanced orchestra remained focused throughout the song, with each member intently waiting to be led in. Finally, they closed out their performance with “Spartacus” by Brian Balmages, a piece featuring intense, dynamic rhythms that contained several roaring sections.

Following the advanced orchestra’s exit, the artist orchestra, consisting of upperclassmen, took their positions. “I think [the pre-assessment concert] helps us play the pieces in order, because in classes, we usually separate our practices for each piece [and don’t have] the pressure of being on stage with the lights [or] audience looking at us,” senior Charlotte Cheung said. “It puts a lot on us and we always mess up during pre-assessment, but during the assessment, we get over that fear.” 

After a special recognition Santosh, the concertmaster, the group began their warm-up with “Lullaby” by William Hofeldt, an eloquent and soothing introduction to their ensemble. Their first piece began as they played “Rhythm Sticks” by Shirl Jae Atwell, an upbeat piece with notes highlighting each of the string instruments. Lastly, they concluded their pre-assessment concert with the electric piece “Perseus” by Soon Hee Newbold. With harmonies telling the story of ancient hero Perseus as he slays Medusa, the artist orchestra enraptured the audience with daring melodies, in large part due to Santosh, who performed a solo portion and led his section to an overall smooth and clean performance. “[Concertmaster] is certainly a fancy title,” Santosh said. “It’s nice to have that title but I definitely got to do a better job. It’s called concertmaster not just because you sit in the front, but because you are technically supposed to be leading with the conductor so I have to move my own body to cue in different sections and lead the orchestra.”

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Shaila Patel

Sitting in the first chair position, senior Rohan Santosh, the concertmaster, helps lead the artist orchestra. “I think the assessment concert is in March so we have lots of time to improve; that’s the main purpose of all this because if you're just practicing in the classroom, there is not enough pressure to do good,” Santosh said.