Orchestra Students Take First and Second at the Heritage Music Festival

All orchestra students traveled to Los Angeles to play at the Heritage Music Festival this past weekend. The top orchestra placed first and the second orchestra placed second in the strings division. This festival enables bands, orchestras and choirs to come and perform as well as be clinched on their pieces. Orchestra director, Jonathan Lane, was proud of his students but disappointed with the judges.

“I was really disappointed with the quality of the judges,” Lane said. “They just didn’t seem to have anything to really offer. They were college band directors and they didn’t seem to really know the literature that we were playing really well or how to really deal with a string section.”

In addition to placing first, the orchestra traveled around Los Angeles and got to discover the city. Lane chooses events for a holistic experience and not one that is focused on the competition.

“I go for the whole experience,” Lane said. “Hearing the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall was a fantastic experience, Getting the students to Santa Monica beach and seeing that kind of life in L.A., and going to the art museum were as well. So the overall trip was as much or more important than just the festival.”

For more information about  the trip read https://smeharbinger.net/news/orchestra-members-take-trip-to-la.