Biannual chamber concert showcases ensemble variety
Orchestra members performed at the biannual chamber music concert, highlighting a diverse repertoire of music ranging from oboe and piano trios to a full-orchestra concerto at the biannual chamber concert on Feb. 20 in the Patil Theater.
The chamber orchestra opened the concert with “Grand Pianola Music: ‘On the Dominant Divide,’” a minimalist work by popular contemporary composer John Adams featuring two solo pianists. Following the piece, individuals and smaller groups of musicians took the stage. Junior Sylvia Chen played “Battling Against Typhoon” with her guzheng, followed by sophomores Sunny Gao, Patricia Li and Emma Wang playing Mortiz Moskowski’s “Suite for Two Violins and Piano in G Minor.”
Orchestra director Jaco Wong noted that the concert represented a rare opportunity for musicians to showcase their individual skills and musical interests outside of the much larger full orchestra.
“Our orchestra is typically really focused on big ensembles and large groups playing, so it was really special that we got to have this chamber concert,” Wong said. “This only happens once every other year, so it’s really special to hear the talents of these small groups of musicians playing.”
Performances like Beethoven’s “Oboe Trio, Movement 1” and “String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor” reintroduced more classical works. During intermission, student groups performed additional pieces in the RPAC lobby.
Following the intermission, the chamber orchestra reconvened for Weber’s “Bassoon Concerto in F Major, Movement 1,” featuring soloist Vinayak Sinha (12), one of the winners of the orchestra’s senior concerto competition.
Selected by a panel of external judges after several rounds of auditions, Vinayak emphasized his long journey learning the concerto, and his determination to bring it to the stage.
“It’s been a year since I started learning the piece because the concerto competition was in September, and I started learning it last February,” Vinayak said. “So during my performance, I felt calm. I was just trying to share my passion for music with the people in the audience.”
Eleven musicians remained on stage for “Seafoam Tides,” a piece composed by senior Erika Wang and open to volunteers to play. Other, smaller-group pieces included the folk song “Pied Piper from Hamelin,” as well as Marcel Tournier’s “Etude de Concert” and Felix Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet No. 4.”
Before the orchestra played the first piece, the concert production team introduced each of the performing ensembles and shared their efforts in planning the concert. Consisting of orchestra members Timothy Deng (12), Christine Deng (11), Caroline Zhou (11) and Natalie Song (9), the team began preparing in September and worked with Wong to select pieces from student audition videos and organize the event. Natalie especially appreciated the bonding opportunity that both planning and playing in the concert presented.
“It just felt really nice to be playing with everyone in the orchestra, especially after organizing it for such a long time too,” Natalie said. “I really got to experience getting close with the other members and in the process of playing with the orchestra together is just like a big family. As a freshman, everyone was really welcoming and that was comforting.”
