Westridge Chamber Orchestra Rated “Excellent” in Festival Performance
Conductor: Michael Powers 1st Violins: Abby Y., ‘20 (Principal), Gaby L., ‘20, Mable Z., ‘21, and Gigi T., ‘22 2nd Violins: Claire S., ‘22 (Principal) and Simone O., ‘22 Violas: Lydia P., ‘19 (Principal) and McKenna B., ‘21 Cellos: Zellie O., ‘19 (Principal), Hanna G., ‘21, Anya R., ‘21, and Sophie P., ‘21 Bass: Mason G., ‘19 Flutes: Shirlynn C., ‘21 (Principal), Izzy G., ‘20, Katrina W., ‘21, Stella B., ‘21, Edna H., ‘22 Oboes: Emily W., ‘21 (Principal), Sarah H., ‘22 Piano: Melissa B., ‘19
McKenna B.
By McKenna B.
April 23, 2019
On March 8th, Westridge Chamber Orchestra, with conductor Michael Powers, traveled to California School of the Arts in Duarte, California to perform in a Band & Orchestra Festival hosted by the Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association (SCSBOA). The festival required each orchestra to prepare two or three pieces to perform and to sight-read one piece in front of a panel of judges.
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The Chamber Orchestra played Aaron Copland’s Hoe Down from Rodeo with solo parts performed by violinist Abby Y., ’20 and violist Lydia P., ’19 Violinist Gaby L.,’20 also performed the solo parts in excerpts from the major motion picture La La Land Westridge Chamber Orchestra received a superior, the highest rating, for the performance and an excellent, the second highest rating, for sight-reading.
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SCSBOA was practice for the Chamber Orchestra’s performances during the Rome and Florence Interim, explained Mr. Powers.
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“We had a fun time playing, and it was really good practice for the tour we went on. I personally think we played well, and we got high marks from the judges, which was really positive,” said Abby Y., ‘20.
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Cellist Anya R., ’21 remarked, “Our orchestra has never had an experience like this. It put us completely out of our comfort zones which helped us grow a lot as a group and with how we played! No matter how we played we got so much out of it.”
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A full recap of the Festival Results is provided here.
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