Students of AHS orchestra have been fervently preparing for their upcoming fall concert that will take place on October 18th. The Masquerade concert is the orchestra’s first concert of the year and first high school concert for the rising freshmen. 

“It’s a little nerve wracking but I know it will be fun. In middle school we never got dressed up and wore costumes so this will be a cool new experience for me,” said freshman Stephanie Nguyen. 

As it is freshman year’s first performance, it will also be senior year’s last masquerade concert. Because of this, there’s a lot of mixed feelings involved.

 “I’m kinda excited, our halloween costumes are always fun. As for this being my last one, I don’t know. I’m kinda devastated. I’m definitely going to miss this,” said senior Jenyzel Raquepo.

Since it is the orchestra’s first concert of the year, it’s to be expected that there would be a lot of emotions involved; excitement, sadness, and especially nervousness.

 “I’m very nervous because it’s one of our most anticipated concerts of the year,” said sophomore Jessica Nugyen. “We have to make sure that we have everything ready and prepared.”

However, nerves are always there, it’s something that is to be expected with every performance.

“Concerts are always nerve wracking – but since I was a freshman and this was the first concert of the year – it was especially so. At the same time, it was a really fun concert since it was our masquerade concert where we all dressed up in costumes for Halloween, and I’m pretty sure that’s been a tradition for a long time. It was fun to make and wear a costume as well as see everyone else’s!” said sophomore Brianne Nguyen. “It was also interesting because one of the orchestras from Poe Middle School came to perform as well, and it’s always cool to see what other orchestras in other schools are doing.” 

As a whole, orchestra students have been practicing sections of their music often during class or after school. They’ve been experimenting with different types of techniques like “decrescendos” and “shifting” as well as reviewing older techniques.

“It differs from other concerts in regards to the complexity,” said Orchestra teacher Ms. Youmans. 

Since this is the first concert of the year, many students are still brushing up on their skills after the summer break. According to Ms. Youmans, this concert if meant to be “more fun” and “less formal” compared to other concerts held later into the year

Speaking of fun, let’s talk about the main attraction of this performance, the masquerade! Orchestra students of each section get together to prepare an interesting halloween costume. Last year, cello users dressed up as the mario brothers, the violas dressed up as pirates, and violins wore their own costumes. I’m excited to see what they have in store for us this year!