Kathy Tse
November 14th, 2021
On the evening of November 28th, 2017 students grabbed the audience's attention as soon as they began performing their very first piece, “Viola Concerto G major” by Georg Philipp Telemann. This was a very jolly and relaxing piece where the conductor, Mr. Yehudayan, himself picked up his violin to join the ensemble. This piece was particularly demanding because professional ensembles usually have about 10 players playing this piece, whereas the High School String players had 60. After the concert, Mr. Yehudayan complimented the ensemble by saying that their “sensitivity to nuances and listening skills were fantastic during the Telemann concerto.”
Another very energetic piece that was performed was the Brandenburg Concerto #3 in G major. Written by JS Bach, this piece is considered as one of the best orchestral compositions of the Baroque era. As Mr. Yehudayan lowered his baton in a downstroke, the musicians began playing in unison. The audience remained intently focused during the eleven minutes of the concerto.
The audience members had an enjoyable time. Mrs. Yehudayan, one of the parents of a student said that “The music is very beautiful. I enjoyed the ensemble performance and I was amazed at the contribution these students made.” Meanwhile, the mother of Mathea Ng (10) said, “The performance was brilliant from beginning to end. I am more and more impressed with every performance these amazing students put on!”
Despite their success, the performers were quite humble. As one of the violinists, Christine Lee (10) said, “Everyone did the best they could and we had fun. It was a lot of hard work -- two hours a day -- but it was worth it in the end.” After hours of grueling practice for the big event, having fun and appreciating the repertoire was what mattered the most to the strings performers.
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