On February 22, the JP Stevens Orchestra program held its annual winter concert. The concert included four orchestras of varying skill levels as well as several small groups that performed a diverse repertoire, from classical quartets to movie soundtracks. Featuring many ensembles that differed in size and style, the winter concert appealed to an equally diverse audience. 

The evening started with the Concert orchestra performing “A Festive March” by G. F. Handel, arranged by Ronald Wilcott. This piece commenced the event with an optimistic and joyful mood. The concert orchestra also performed the upbeat “Saison De Cordes” by Francis Feese. 

Next was Heal4Music, a small group of students who run a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading their love for music to surrounding communities. They performed “Speechless” from Aladdin and “Rewrite the Stars” from The Greatest Showman. The group featured junior Olive Wang and senior Spandan Chandra on the violin, senior Andrew Ikemoto on the cello, senior Avi Patel on the bass, and senior Vidyut Rajagopal on the piano. Later in the concert, the group switched gears and performed the sonata-like “Allegro ma non tanto” from Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4 in C minor. 

The Freshman orchestra presented “Chorus of the Huntsmen” by C.M.V. Weber. They then followed with “Fantasia on a Theme from Thailand” in stark contrast. The pentatonic themes of the latter emphasized the upbeat, major melody in the former.

Following the freshmen were several smaller groups, which included a bass and cello ensemble, some of the only lower-string ensembles in New Jersey, and a student-led string quartet. The bass ensemble performed “Ave Verum Corpus” by Mozart, and the cello ensemble performed the Tosca Cello Quartet. The low-pitched pieces displayed a wide range of orchestral instruments. The Four Seasons String Quartet, which consisted of junior Phoebe Tan and junior Alissa Ye on the violin, junior Chloe Chan on the viola, and junior Roman Sadowski on the cello, performed “Merry Go Round of Life” by Joe Hisaishi. 

“Along with making some of my closest friends, I also learned a lot about listening to other people and remaining balanced as an ensemble,” said junior Alissa Ye, a musician in the chamber orchestra. “It’s a moment of respite in a long day or arduous schoolwork and is something I always prize.”

The Camerata orchestra presented several other pieces, including “The Cider House Rules” and a “Serenade” by Franz Schubert. The Chamber orchestra, the final orchestra group of the evening, performed an intense “Introduction” by Benedetto Marcello before finally ending the concert with “Creep” by Mike Hazlewood, with junior Roman Sadowski giving a passionate solo on the cello. The performance of these more technically and musically complex selections provided a fantastic end to the concert. 

“It was a great concert, and everyone did well,” said Dr. Verdi, co-director of the orchestra program. “We will miss the auditorium and the many concerts we performed there, and this will be the last concert. We are looking forward to the new performance venue.” 

Overall, the JP Stevens Orchestra Winter Concert left a lasting impression on its audience, and the orchestra looks forward to working on new pieces for future performances.