By Rosie Li
The Collingwood orchestra recently competed in the Kiwanis festival and brought home a gold medal for the second year in a roll. This amazing chamber group consists of 8 player, an octet, Thomas Hong (12), Jennifer Lo (12), Sarah Golding (9), Olivia Xiao (8), Andrew Chin (12), Carrie Lee (12), Lily Yan (10) and Maggie Li (8). Although they vary in experience, music training, and skill level, this orchestra has brought them together to put on an amazing Gold Medal performance.
Mr. Smith, the conductor of the orchestra, has stated that, “The string orchestra is dedicated to playing very serious works of classical music that challenge them musically and allow them to express themselves. We would advise budding artists to keep at it, even when it gets challenging, because when you push through the challenges, it is worth the results.”
This group enjoys playing a variety of music, especially Vivaldi. Vivaldi’s music is suitable for strings and the music is very accessible. At the same time, it pushed the group technically. Mr. Smith says, “Mozart is good too, but did we mention we like Vivaldi?” In addition, their favourite styles of music are classical and baroque, as most of their repertoire comprised of music from those time periods. Thomas, however, a member of the orchestra, loves to play Romantic era music. Sometimes, the chamber group enjoys the odd pop tune for a break from serious music.
The Collingwood orchestra recently competed in the Kiwanis festival and brought home a gold medal for the second year in a roll. This amazing chamber group consists of 8 player, an octet, Thomas Hong (12), Jennifer Lo (12), Sarah Golding (9), Olivia Xiao (8), Andrew Chin (12), Carrie Lee (12), Lily Yan (10) and Maggie Li (8). Although they vary in experience, music training, and skill level, this orchestra has brought them together to put on an amazing Gold Medal performance.
Mr. Smith, the conductor of the orchestra, has stated that, “The string orchestra is dedicated to playing very serious works of classical music that challenge them musically and allow them to express themselves. We would advise budding artists to keep at it, even when it gets challenging, because when you push through the challenges, it is worth the results.”
This group enjoys playing a variety of music, especially Vivaldi. Vivaldi’s music is suitable for strings and the music is very accessible. At the same time, it pushed the group technically. Mr. Smith says, “Mozart is good too, but did we mention we like Vivaldi?” In addition, their favourite styles of music are classical and baroque, as most of their repertoire comprised of music from those time periods. Thomas, however, a member of the orchestra, loves to play Romantic era music. Sometimes, the chamber group enjoys the odd pop tune for a break from serious music.
The recording above features three works. First up are the three movements from Henry Purcell’s Abdelazer suite. The second movement, Rondo, is quite famous, so it should be recognizable. The second piece, a challenge for the group, is called Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, written by Ralph Vaughn Williams. Mr. Smith describes it as an “emotional piece filled with wonderful time and key changes, but still maintains a great amount of flow.” The final piece is the Presto Movement of Vivaldi’s Summer (from The Seasons). This is the orchestra’s favourite and definitely most impressive.
The final concert for the year, took place on June 7th, and will feature the music listed above. It was a great opportunity for anyone who wants to hear it live!
Unfortunately, a lot the members of the orchestra are graduating this year. Even though music is not the career being pursued by any of these amazing musicians, they all plan to continue playing music in some form, whether or not it is on their stringed instrument. For the future of the orchestra, Mr. Smith will be looking forward to meeting some new members! If you play violin, viola, cello, or string bass, it would be a perfect opportunity for you to join the orchestra by attending the auditions held in September! This group is looking forward in continuing with their streak of getting gold, so “the more people that show up to the audition, the better!”