Aragon’s chamber and string orchestras performed with renowned pianists Dr. William Wellborn and Dr. Victoria Neve at the Spring Concert on April 24. During this same week, the Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble and Concert Band performed, while the Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Band, choir and acapella groups performed the following week.
The concert repertoire included Mozart Piano Quartet in G Minor played by a quartet of Aragon students and Wellborn, Bach Keyboard Concerto in F Minor performed the chamber orchestra and Neve and a variety of other pieces played by the orchestra.
Before Wellborn and Neve agreed to perform, orchestra and choir director John Chen originally had a different idea in mind for this year’s concert.
“Originally, an Australian concert pianist was scheduled to perform with our orchestra … that collaboration fell through, but we already started learning these pieces [that were the Australian guest pianist’ choices],” Chen said. “I asked around and asked these two guest artists to perform with us … Dr. Victoria Neve was my teacher when I was going through music major as piano and voice performance major. For Dr. William Wellborn, I’ve met through Dr. Neve.”
Chen selected the concert’s pieces based on seasonal surroundings and comparisons among the songs, introducing new styles while also maintaining traditions.
“We had a second half filled with other classics and staples of the string orchestra repertoire,” Chen said. “Those pieces are set pieces that we always play at least three or more contrasting pieces every semester so that we all experience different genres. There’s always a tradition at the end where we dedicate a piece to the seniors and all the seniors get up from their seats.”
“Even though most modern pianos are made out of sturdier material and produce louder and grander sounds, Dr. Neve still chooses to play mellowly. This actually made the song sound closer to what it might have sounded in the Baroque era, which was what made it sound so interesting to me”
To earn a spot in the quartet with Wellborn, Chen emailed parts of the quartet to the orchestra in December, offering auditions. After a round of auditions, freshman Simone Hsu on cello, junior Mayuko Boffelli on viola and senior Sean Heffernan on violin were chosen.
“I was really honored to have been chosen for the quartet,” Hsu said. “I was a little nervous about working with upperclassmen, but I got over that pretty quickly [because] we had all been in orchestra together for a semester already anyway.”
To prepare for the concert, the Mozart quartet practiced during flex and lunch or in a smaller practice room during class. On the other hand, the chamber orchestra practiced the other pieces every class period without Neve until the Thursday before the concert where the piece came together.
“The Thursday before the concert, [Neve] came to our room and we actually spent the whole hour and a half, because it was block day, practicing with her,” said junior Andre Gu. “We ran through the songs with the piano and worked on a few places, fixing the timing [and] the tempo.”
The orchestra and Mozart quartet both encountered a few difficulties without the guest pianists present, but the quartet had a tougher time managing the absences of the song.
“It’s definitely easier to play with the pianist because with the piece we’re playing, we have the quartet and then about three measures of rest, and then the piano is playing,” Boffelli said. “Whenever we would play without the pianist, it was awkward because there was silence. We weren’t exactly sure when to come in or what the whole thing would sound like with the piano.”
Regardless of the minor technicalities, months of preparation and talent of the orchestra and the guest pianists resulted in a successful concert.
“It’s nice to see so many young people taking their music so seriously. The students really did a great job… They still sounded very professional and very nice. They’re one of the best high school orchestras I’ve ever heard”
“[The orchestra] performed really well,” Chen said. “It was a challenging concert because of the complexity of the music this semester, but they all definitely play their best and they all definitely rise to the occasion. I was really extremely proud of this concert and the pile they played and how they performed.”
Working with the guest pianists was a unique experience for the orchestra.
“[Neve’s] light touch mimics the playing style of the Baroque period, because back then the pianos and harpsichords that Bach used couldn’t have produce much sound,” Gu said. “Even though most modern pianos are made out of sturdier material and produce louder and grander sounds, Dr. Neve still chooses to play mellowly. This actually made the song sound closer to what it might have sounded in the Baroque era, which was what made it sound so interesting to me.”
Wellborn and Neve were equally impressed by the concert results and the orchestra.
“The students were wonderful,” Neve said. “They’re very good [and] very nice. I felt very happy about [the concert]. It’s nice to see so many young people taking their music so seriously. The students really did a great job… They still sounded very professional and very nice. They’re one of the best high school orchestras I’ve ever heard.”
