LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. — As the velvet curtains pull back, a golden light illuminates the audience, which is filled with gaping mouths and glittering eyes. To the right, a cello sings a playful tune into silence… then, the left side of the orchestra bursts into life: violins, clarinets and trumpets. The song continues until it spirals into a dramatic climax, leaving the audience room for claps and whistles. At Los Alamitos High School’s next orchestra show, “Candlelight: An Evening of Elegance,” anyone may live through this experience.
“You are supposed to dress up super fancy. We will have flutes filled with candy, a photo booth and a red carpet,” Elliot Dominguez, a senior playing in Candlelight, said.
Imagine walking on a red carpet toward your seat in the PAC, surrounded by people in tuxedos in candlelight as candy flies around the room. To see this magic happen, buy tickets for Candlelight by Friday, March 7. The performance itself will be very intricate and organized, consisting of numerous parts.
“The (advanced) chamber orchestra will be performing all five movements of Grieg Holberg suites and Mozart’s 29th Symphony,” Dominguez said; Dominguez will sit as concertmaster for Mozart, and senior Aubrey Ahn will be concertmaster for Holberg.
Performances will showcase spectacular student musicians who have labored over hours of rehearsal and independent practice. The talented soloists of this show include: Dominguez, a violinist of over 13 years, performing Mozart’s “Violin Concerto in D Major” and Ahn, playing “Winter Wind” by Chopin on the piano. Everyone has poured in hours of practice to ensure an authentic, coordinated performance.
“We have been playing Holberg for a long time now. We originally played it first semester, so now we get to play all of the movements for it. We have solos too, and I know they will sound excellent,” Ahn said.
Not only have these students worked at their instruments for many hours, but they have worked on these specific pieces for months. This additional experience will set this show apart from the rest. Along with this, a special guest will be performing at this show: Eunae Koh. She has been a violinist since she was nine and will provide an excellent performance in this show.
Be prepared to see Christian Rodriguez and Noel Rauda-Trout play “An Episode” by Ludwig Van Beethoven, Olivia Choi and Wan Lee play excerpts from “Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85 Fourth Movement” by Edward Elgar, Sienna Chumbley and Rebecca Chumbley play “Méditation” by Jules Massenet and Noel Rauda-Trout and Rachel Kim play excerpts from “Violin Concerto in E Minor Op. 64 Movement 1” by Felix Mendelssohn.
“It is a good opportunity because we are playing this for a festival coming up, so this is almost like a mock festival, where we are judged as we play,” Hailey Mellot, a sophomore performer in Candlelight, said. Not every orchestra show is followed by a judged performance, includes candy flutes and is preceded by months of practice.
“In reality, our class is chill, but when it comes time, we do practice (a lot). Honestly, we still have a playful attitude; if we mess up, it is okay,” Ahn said.
The LAHS string quartet will perform an excerpt from “String Quartet No.15 in D Minor” by Joseph Haydn; the string orchestra will play “Symphony Concertante No. 1” by Joseph Bologne and Chevalier de St. George arr. Jim Palmer and the freshman string quartet will play “The American Third Movement” by Antonín Dvořák.
Wish these performers luck, head to the website to buy tickets and brace for the performance of a lifetime!
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