To commemorate the fall season, Lebanon Trail’s orchestra put on their annual fall concert with the symphonic, philharmonic, concert, repertory, and chamber orchestras performing. Conducted by Mr. Vanderpool and Mrs. Moore, this year’s concert was held on Thursday, October 13, 2022 in the LT auditorium. 

To begin with, orchestra is given the opportunity to choose what music they would like to play for the concert. 

“Before we start preparing for a concert, there is a short time in which we read through music and decide on what the students and directors would like to prepare,” said orchestra director Mr. Vanderpool. 

They then spend dedicated time perfecting technique and preparing music in order to put on the best show possible for their audience. 

“We go about preparing the music through daily warm ups, focusing on tough sections through quizzes and tests, and daily preparation during class,” Vanderpool said. 

Although preparing for a big concert can be daunting, orchestra maintains a work environment in which they are comfortable and can have fun in. 

“Our rehearsals occur during class time,” Vanderpool said. “We have very high expectations of excellence here at LT so we try to balance our hard work, and focus, in class with small breaks to talk and joke about anything that comes up during the process.

Students in orchestra work hard to ensure the quality of their performance so that they can give their all on the day of their performance. 

“Every orchestra works hard each class to learn and improve our repertoire, and as we work up to the concert date, the music gradually comes together,” said senior Elise Wang. “We do a lot of rehearsing with our awesome orchestra directors, which involves nitpicking through difficult technique, trying to improve musicality, and everything else in between. By the time of the concert, the amount of time and effort we spent preparing helps us be confident and excited for the performance.”

Orchestra serves not only as a class but a community of students who are passionate about playing music. 

“I think joining orchestra is more than a class where you can make music and play an instrument,” said Wang. That alone is already so special compared to academic classes, but we also make a community among ourselves, and it’s an opportunity to socialize and make new connections together, which you don’t get to find much of as a high schooler. 

It is truly satisfying for the orchestra and its directors to see the outcome of the hard work they put into preparing for their concert.

“My favorite part of the concert is always the music,” Vanderpool said. “It is wonderful to see the students share the music that we have been preparing with their friends and families. Our next concert is December 16th and everyone should come and enjoy some awesome holiday music!”