Last Thursday, Guilford High School hosted a concert from some of our own performing ensembles in honor of Ned Tarantino. The concert performed by the Jazz Ensemble, the Repertory Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestra, which took place from seven in the evening to nine-thirty, included timeless pieces such as Here’s That Rainy Day, Hoedown, and the partial soundtrack to the Harry Potter movies. Mid-way through the Jazz Ensemble´s performance, the audience got a wonderful surprise: Thomas Boates, the recently-retired conductor for GHS Orchestras, walked on stage and played with the ensemble! He also conducted the piece The Syncopated Clock for the Symphony Orchestra later on in the concert. Seeing him again was a pleasant surprise for many members of the audience and ensembles.

Special praise must be given to the musicians performing solos during the concert. In the Jazz Ensemble, solos were abundant: Harrison Loyd and Liam Melvin performed on baritone saxophone and trombone respectively, followed by Sam Beers and Sean McLean on the trumpet and Alex Sexton and Cassie Pringle on the saxophone. Jackson Howard brought a string twist to the repertoire with his violin along with Ruby DeGoursey on the bass. Sean Fannon performed on the trumpet, Carter Brian on the piano, Owen Campaigne on the drumset, and Cassie Pringle made a comeback in the last piece with the clarinet. In the Repertory Orchestra, Ava Seseke and Evelyn Bertolini were soloists on the violin and cello, and violinists Sasha Armsten and Yurika Ishibe were the focus of The Creaking Tree. For the pièce de résistance, Concert Mistress Reika Ishibe performed the intense Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Samuel Barber. Her performance truly was a historic moment for the orchestra, and she will be a missed member next year.

For, indeed, many students in the ensembles are departing seniors. To all of them, a gift bag with chocolate and a warm goodbye was given by Christopher Jones, the current conductor of both the Repertory and Symphony Orchestras. Their contributions to the music department were highly appreciated, and the department wishes each of them a good future.

This concert marked the nearing end of yet another school year, and the string ensembles can now rest easy knowing that there are no more concerts on the horizon. If you missed this concert, remember Jones´s words when the Symphony Orchestra started their first piece without him: ¨You snooze, you lose!¨ Next year will bring new pieces to the stage, so make sure to stop by and enjoy the music.

The full program of this concert is detailed down below.

Jazz Ensemble:

• Moanin´ by Charles Mingues, arr. Sy Johnson
• Lago del Oeste by Matt Harris
• The Crescent City Stomp by Eric Richards
• Here’s That Rainy Day by Jimmy Van Heusen, arr. Dee Barton
• Sing, Sang, Sung by Gordon Goodwin

Repertory Orchestra:

• Allegretto from Symphony No.7 by Ludwig von Beethoven
• Hoedown by Aaron Copland, arr. Bullard
• Creaking Tree by Darol Anger, arr. Philips

Symphony Orchestra:

• Cuarteto No 4 en Do Mayor, K.157 by Mozart
• A Moment for Peace by Brian Balmages
• The Syncopated Clock by Leroy Anderson
• Allegro Moderato from Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Samuel Barber
• The Complete Harry Potter by John WIlliams, arr. Brubaker