Massed Orchestra Festival

On Friday the 5th of February the St Stithians College Orchestra travelled to Trinityhouse School in Randpark Ridge for what would be the first rehearsal of the 2016 Interschool’s Orchestra Festival. This is an annual festival that includes our own orchestra as well as musicians from Kingsmead, Trinityhouse and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. More than 160 instrumentalists assembled to perform in ensemble groups as well as two massed items under the directorship of Eddie Clayton, one of South Africa’s best-loved conductors.

The buzz around the hall was electric as old friends reunited and poured over the music that we would be playing over the weekend. The pieces are usually quite challenging and this year was no exception. When everyone stumbled through the pieces for the first time, it almost seemed an impossible feat that within three days we would be ready to perform. But with a room full of talented young musicians, an amazing conductor and a total of nine hours of rehearsal time, like magic, it came together.

This year we performed two pieces, Freedom by Michael W. Smith and The Lord of the Dance by Ronan Hardiman. The latter piece is an incredibly fast Irish jig that would make even a professional musician quake!

When the time for the concert finally arrived, everyone was ready for an evening filled with spectacular performances from each ensemble and, of course, the grand finalé of the massed orchestra. The whole concert was incredible with musicians and audience alike in awe of the joyous sound. We achieved the seemingly impossible and parents, I am sure, breathed a sigh of relief that all those years of music lessons had paid off. It was a night to remember and when the festival finally drew to a close everyone was exhausted but sad to say goodbye because it had been a weekend full of fun, new friends and of course wonderful music.

Jessica Rogers, Grade 12