By Kelly Yang ‘23
On January 18th, Massachusetts Music Educators' Association Central District Senior Festival was successfully held at the Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. Three days of seven-hour rehearsals of the orchestra, band, and choir paid off. The splendid performance gained thousands of audiences’ applauses.
Through the selective audition, Kelly Yang ‘23 joined the District choir. Grace Li ‘21 became part of the District concert band. Richard Zhang ‘21, Waverly Shi ‘21, Albert Wu ‘23 played in the District orchestra as violinists, and Ryder Henry ‘20 played the French Horn in the same orchestra.
The repertoire of the concerts included a great variety of musical and cultural genres. This year, under Edward Cumming, Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra challenged itself with hard pieces like Prelude to Act III "Lohengrin" by Wagner, Symphony No. 5 (2nd movement) by Tchaikovsky, and Dvorak's Slavonic Dance op. 46, no. 1 in C major. Richard Zhang ‘21 reflected that the conductor was very different as he did not get straight into the repertoire like most of the other conductors during the rehearsal. "Instead, he let all musicians spend half an hour to introduce themselves to each other. It helped all the musicians to bond together. The orchestra not only interpreted and made music together, but they also develop friendships and musicianships, which is also vital for the experience," he recalled. Waverly Shi '21, a two-year participant of District, also commented that the conductor of the orchestra was very different from last year's, as well as the style of the pieces. She reflected that her favorite piece to play was Dvorak Slavonic dances. "The harmonies and melodies are all blended together. The style was also very upbeat," she said.
This year, Dr. Dominick Ferrara, a professor from Berklee College of Music, conducted the concert band. Grace Li ‘21, who played the flute in the concert band, shared her experience. "I always love going to districts because you get to meet and play with many other musicians who are just as passionate as you are about music,” she said. Li also recalled that her biggest challenge of joining the band was getting through hours of rehearsal and as a V former, she also had very heavy workload to manage. “But that being said, being able to play music with a conductor who is very knowledgeable and passionate, as well as with kids your age who are so hardworking and talented is such a pleasure and great opportunity that makes the long hours easier to get through!” she reflected.
The central district invited Kayla Werlin, who is a conductor and soloist, and choral music teacher at Longmeadow High School, to conduct the choir. Her vivid imagination gives spirit to the repertoires. The first piece was Sicut Locutus by J.S. Bach. The piece was originally sung by boys and men choir. In this concert, the conductor also added the female voice which created a bright timbre and a more jocund mood. The polyphonic texture made the piece harder to keep in tempo, but the choir mastered it and added dynamic change, which made the piece more delightful. The following piece was Esto Les Digo by Kinley Lange. The choir’s phrasing and the solo made the piece sound peaceful and serene. The next piece Three Madrigal by Emma Lou Diemer uses different texture, tempo, and dynamic in three movements. The first movement uses word-painting in the phrase “High and low”, creates a beautiful descending line. The choir also performer the African folk song, Fiela, which depicted African women doing the housework and sweeping the floor. The choreography added vividness and cultural elements to the concert. The last repertoire Untravelled Worlds by Paul Halley use the famous poem, Ulysses, by Alfred for its text. Ulysses’ spirit of adventure encourages all of the musicians of the festival to continue the exploration of music in the future.
The successful performance can never leave the assistance of Mr. Wallace, who have the musicians both physical and spiritual support during rehearsals and auditions. And congratulations to Waverly Shi, Grace Li, and Ryder Henry, who were accepted into the All-States Music Festival! They will play in the All-State Music Festival Concert in Symphony Hall, Boston, on March 7.
