The 2010 Winter Concert featured a split concert schedule for the first time between performers of the Upper School and of the Lower and Middle School.

The Jazz Band opened the Upper School portion of the concert to a full house, featuring vocals by Francesca Nagle (11) and saxophone solos by Andrew Liang (11) on alto “sax” and Aadithya Prakash (12) on tenor “sax.”

The Band played four songs: Moanin’. Blue Skies, Georgia on my Mind, and Malagueña.

“We had the energy that we needed, and we practiced a lot, so it really came out great,” Andrew said.

Though feeling sick at the start of the concert, Aadithya seemed to also have benefited from that energy.

“I thought I wasn’t going to pull through, but I just let my soul come out tonight, and so the solos were pretty amazing,” Aadithya said.

After a brief intermission, the Upper School Orchestra took the stage performing Smetana’s Overture from The Bartered Bride, the four movements of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.1 in G Minor, and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No.5 to close the concert.

Larger than ever before, this year’s Upper School Orchestra is composed of 65 students; the musicians were quite excited about the performance.

“I’ve been in orchestra for a while now, since middle school, and originally we were like [28] people, and it’s been growing, it’s been getting big. I’d say it’s gotten pretty skilled, and it’s getting to be better every year,” Max Lan (11) said.

“It’s just so fulfilling to see the audience’s reaction to how we play after so much hard work,” Sonya Huang (12) said.

Commenting after the performance: “they pretty much lived up to my expectations. Everything worked out, and I was pretty happy,” Christopher Florio, Instrumental Teacher and Conductor, said.

The Upper School Orchestra will begin with a new program during the second semester in preparation for their trip to Los Angeles in the spring.