Written By: Patrick Novak, Staff Writer
TRIUMPH: Orchestra musicians overcome great emotional devastation and pull through with an unforgettable performance.
Poly High School’s Orchestra witnessed much the past two years. With the pandemic halting performances and the recent loss of their late conductor Bob Habereder, performing became a lot more difficult. However, despite incredible odds, they, alongside Gage Middle School’s String Orchestra, put on an emotionally powerful and impressive performance.
Fitting the contemporary season, the entire orchestra dressed up in costumes for Halloween, with each section having a different theme such as the Percussion golf dads. In honor of Mr. Habereder’s legacy, the student conductors wore animal onesies – a tradition Haberader started because he thought it would be funny to conduct while wearing one.
Mentioning the most exciting detail about the concert’s selection of songs, Vincent Garavito (12) stressed “the amount of passion people are putting into their own work and what they’ve done to contribute towards what the piece will sound like.” This passion was unavoidably evident in the show. Powerful performances filled the room with an exhilarating feeling of musical love that locked audiences in their seats as if they had witnessed something they had never seen before.
Playing before Poly, the Gage Middle School String Orchestra performed two amazing songs: Royal Court Dance by Elliot Del Borgo and Skin and Bones by Michael Story. Gage’s conductor Mr. Guzman then gave an incredibly moving speech about Mr. Habereder and the future of Poly’s orchestra. The speech was succeeded by a performance of Soon Hee Newbold’s Dragon Dances by Gage orchestra alumni alongside current members of their orchestra. To end the concert, Poly’s Orchestra performed The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet Overture, and España Caña, an explosive finale to culminate the performance.
This year’s Autumn concert was unforgettable not only for the incredible technical achievement from Poly and Gage’s Orchestra, but also the powerful emotional feat this concert was. Addressing what he looks forward to most regarding Orchestra’s future, Vincent Garavito (12) accentuated: “helping others build their craft and skill in an orchestra setting and being a role model that helps contribute [to that].”
Poly’s Orchestra will continue providing next generation’s musicians an ability to exercise their talent. Their next performance will be their Christmas concert in December; make sure to not miss it!