North Hollywood’s music program had our first concert on Thursday, October 26 at 7:00 p.m. Along with the string orchestra, the Fall Instrumental Music Concert also featured the award-winning marching band as well as many chamber groups and solos.
Although all performances deserved applause, there were several pieces that stood out to me, both as a first violinist in the string orchestra and as an audience member (when the orchestra was not playing). The concert opened with a horn quartet playing Canzon Terza by Giovanni Gabrieli. Both musicians and non-musicians would have recognized the tune of Brahms’s all too familiar Hungarian Dance No. 5, played by the string orchestra. The orchestra’s last piece, Bailes para Orquesta, featured two violin solos, one of which was played by our concertmaster and Vector’s food editor, Yi-Shen L. Later, a chamber group (organized and selected by our music director Mr. Sharp) played the first movement of Concerto Grosso No. 2 in G Minor by Francesco Geminiani.
Another notable piece was Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E. Eric M., one of Vector’s assistant politics editor, did a wonderful job accompanying soloist Macrae E. on the piano, given it was his first time doing so. While quiet, Yi-Shen delivered a solid performance of Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor by J.S. Bach. Marching band, as always, ended the concert with an excellent standstill performance of their field show In Our Nature, prompting a significant amount of audience members to record with their phones.
The day before the concert, Mr. Sharp told the orchestra that for the first time, there was a shortage of chamber performances and solos, resulting in an unprecedentedly short performance. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable and successful night for everyone. If you want to see more of the music program and missed this concert, there’s still our upcoming Winter Concert on December 8.