As the final straggling members of the audience take their seats, the auditorium lights begin to dim as bows are lifted on stage and conductor and Orchestra Teacher Allison Howard takes her place at the front of the stage. On April 30, the Robinson Orchestra gathered in the auditorium to give their final performance of the year, the Spring Concert, dazzling audiences with their wide variety of songs played with skill and precision.
The Orchestra has had an impressive year. Just a month ago, they received straight superiors at the annual Florida MPA, (music performance assessment) the highest score possible.
The night began with a performance from the Freshman & Friends Orchestra, who played 2 songs, before the Chamber Orchestra, a student lead Orchestra group, took to the stage. They performed “Scheherazade,” composed by Rimsky Korsakov and conducted by student and amateur John Joura (27′). The song included a solo from Zachary Perron (28′), a violin player.
“Some parts of it were harder to learn than others,” Perron said. “But for me overall, it wasn’t a very difficult solo. The most difficult part was probably making sure my tone was consistent and loud enough to play over the rest of the orchestra.”
After the Chamber finished and the applause died down, the Advanced Orchestra performed three songs including a medley of songs from the movie “La La Land” (2016), receiving recognition and cheers from the audience.
Advanced Orchestra was then joined by the entire combined orchestra, who began by inviting Robinson Principal Dave Brown to the stage as a guest soloist. He joined them in performing their first song, to the audience and Brown’s delight. At the conductor’s hand signal, Brown was instructed to play a few random notes.
“It was a complete surprise,” Brown said afterwards. “I loved it. I love music. Both my older kids, they played in Orchestra. I have no talent, but it was a fun time.”
Then, before the combined orchestra’s final song, orchestra teacher Allison Howard gave a speech honoring the departing seniors, each of them adorned with a sash marking them as such. And during the song “Toy Symphony,” they stood on the edge of the stage contributing with toy drums, trumpets and more.
“It’s a bittersweet thing, you know? I’ve been with those nine for four solid years and they’re all good kids. And we’ve really, we’ve become very tight over the years,” Howard said.
Finally, the night ended with the Tri-M, which includes some of the Robinson Band. They performed a medley of songs from the broadway musical “Hamilton”, and then ended off with the main song from the animated movie “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010).
“The best part was at the end,” First chair viola player Delaney Schmid (28′) said. “Where we all got to stand up and we had finished the concert and we know that all our hard work had been shown.”
