Screams ring out from throughout the Fine Arts Center during the FHC orchestra’s concert. Some people flinch, but there’s little reaction from the audience. The music has since resumed. So, what happened? Why did everyone scream? It’s all part of a song titled, “Rosin-eating Zombies from Outer Space,” the finale the group plays in their performance. Screams are heard three times throughout the song, startling a few unsuspecting family members.

So, is this what orchestra is always like? Does every song require screaming and bizarre titles? While the answer may be “no,” this piece certainly shows how there can be some outlying compositions from an otherwise congruous performance of the string section at FHC. It is possible that this song stands out to most students, and it stands out even more to freshman Ellie Stone.

“It’s definitely a plus,” Ellie said. “It adds a fun sort of element to the song instead of the classic music that everyone thinks orchestra is, [such as] getting to play stuff that is not usually played, like the screaming or vibrato or something like that.”

Now, the song in question is only one part of a bigger performance. In terms of how the concert in general went, Ellie has some mixed feelings to sum up the group’s performance back on Oct. 27.

“Overall, I think the concert went well,” Ellie said. “I personally think we could’ve done a little bit better [if we] had more time to practice, but overall, it sounded good and everything went well, [and] there were no major accidents.”

With this performance in the rear-view mirror, the orchestra will now look to their upcoming December concert for their next showing.

However, the orchestra isn’t just about the music and performances. There’s also a great deal of comradery in room 102 where the class is held. Freshman Claire Busch cherishes the time spent with her friends and fellow musicians in the string section.

“The people are all fun,” Claire said. “You’ll meet all these new people [and] find your little group in the class or just the whole class, and it’s this super fun, chaotic group that you spent your whole middle school and high school life with. There will always be memories that you’ll never forget.”

Claire is a particularly content orchestra performer, and it seems she’s enjoyed every minute of her time and work she’s done in the string section.

Despite the stresses that come with the performances, Claire has been able to enjoy every minute of her time on stage as she has grown as a musician.

“I really like it,” Claire said. “The people are fun, the music is fun to play, and it’s just a fun class in general. It’s a good environment to be in. At first, I was always super nervous [to perform], but I’ve definitely [grown to be] less worried. [Orchestra conductor] Mr. Pool always says that’s our test or exam of what we’ve been covering. It’s just a way to show off what we’ve been doing.”

The FHC orchestra puts a lot of work into preparing for their performances, and nobody puts more time and effort into concert preparation than conductor and orchestra teacher Andrew Pool.

During the October concert, with part of the orchestra in their Halloween costumes, Pool dressed up as Gru from Despicable Me to conduct at the request of the class. Going along with the humor he provides, the conductor is a veteran of teaching the string section.

“I’ve always been associated with music,” Pool said. “My parents were both musicians, and I played instruments from a very early age. It’s just been a thing that I’ve always done, so it seems natural to continue doing that into my career and as a player. I like the sound [of the string instruments]. I like the quality, I like the music, the literature, and I like the combination of the string instruments together.”

Pool has an interesting position as the only orchestra teacher in the district, meaning that he teaches the sixth through 12th graders at the three different schools—Central Woodlands, Central Middle, and Central high school—which is something he embraces and enjoys when he teaches.

 

“[Teaching those levels] gives me a chance to work with lots of different levels of players and music, so it’s quite a variety,” Pool said. “It keeps me fresh. [Through the grade levels], the music gets more complex. The players go higher, and how you teach is relative to what you’re teaching, and sometimes also who you’re teaching. It’s cool to be able to work on the fundamental level and help kids build all of the skills to be successful with their music.”

Because orchestra is such a unique class to take, it is difficult to score in a similar way to other classes. Fortunately, there is always a way to showcase the learning of students through performances and concerts.

The concert is always the culmination of everything the class has learned throughout their time working, and no one is more proud to see everything come together than the man who teaches the ensemble how to put everything together.

“Concerts are great days because the work is already done, and it’s kind of like a payday,” Pool said. “In a lot of classes, you have a unit test. If you flunk a math test, that affects just one person. In orchestra, you’re part of a team. Even if you’re successful, you’re still only one part of a bigger team. The strength of the group is in the numbers. It’s different because we’re in front of an audience. Our concert is a very public statement of the work that we do, and a showing of the intense preparation that we’ve done, but also, the material we’ve covered in class. It’s a different way to look at it, but it keeps me on my toes. That’s what I like about concerts. It’s the payday.”