The Williamsville high schools’ District Orchestra Festival is a mainstay of our school district’s music program. It is a time for orchestras from all three Williamsville high schools to gather at one location to share a night of music and to show off their skills. The annual event rotates in location between the three schools, promoting unity between the high schools of the district and inspiring students interested in music. One of the best memories from my three years in our Symphonic Orchestra was performing the Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture in my first high school concert, the 2011 District Orchestra Festival right here at East.
Recently, some uncertainty regarding the fate of this concert arose when there was talk last year of the 2013-14 festival being cancelled due to financial constraints and the difficulty of organizing a concert between all three schools. After some incredible efforts by our music wing teachers and music coordinators around the district, this year’s District Orchestra Festival did not only go on; it featured the Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet!
Even though East hosts a jazz musician every year for its spring “Legends of Jazz” concert series (last year’s guest artist being the illustrious John Pizzarelli), this is the first time the district as a whole featured a guest artist at n orchestra festival. And the Turtle Island Quartet is not just any guest artist. They are internationally acclaimed as the world’s first jazz string quartet and won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album in 2006 and 2008.
Combining the classic string quartet format with modern musical styles, Turtle Island Quartet redefines the art of music making and was even recognized by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma as originators of “some of the most creative music-making today”. It is truly an honor for the Williamsville schools to be hosting such amazing artists.
The “Turtles”, as the quartet likes to be called, came to Williamsville East High School for a master class on December 4 during fourth and fifth periods. Symphony Orchestra members were taught specific bowing and playing techniques in order to replicate the sound of a rhythm section and brass instruments that constitute jazz as many people know it. The Turtles were extremely down-to-earth and friendly, helping East music students find their inner jazz “soul” all the while imparting seasoned performers’ wisdom and even cracking an obligatory viola joke or two. It was an amazing experience for all those playing and watching to see how humble the quartet was and how excited its members were about the jazz program at Williamsville East.
Orchestra director Mr. Moose commented, “We were very fortunate to be able to bring in the current top jazz string quartet. What a great opportunity for our students.”
This year’s district orchestra festival with Turtle Island consisted of performances from the three Williamsville high school Symphony Orchestras. On the night of Wednesday, December 4 at Williamsville South, nearly a thousand people gathered to sit in the audience. Williamsville North began the concert with a performance of “Waltz” from Cinderella and a spooky performance of Camille Saint-Saens’s “Dance Macabre” with Aidan Scoccia (grade 12, WNHS) playing multiple solos. Williamsville East then played selections from the musical My Fair Lady as well as Rossini’s “William Tell Overture”. Williamsville South’s orchestra ended the student portion of the performance by playing “Hoedown”, the first movement of Copland’s “Rodeo”, and Gershwin’s “Crazy for You” Overture (which coincidentally will be performed by the Williamsville East Symphony Orchestra during Winterfest).
After the three high school orchestras finished playing, Turtle Island took the stage and closed the night with their own setlist. Many of the tunes were written specifically for the quartet, which has been around since 1985 but has changed members throughout its tenure. Pieces that stood out through the set included a swinging rendition of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”, some fantastic improvisation over John Coltrane’s classic jazz standard “Moment’s Notice”, and a beautifully moving cello solo, “Julie-O”, composed by Turtle Island Quartet founding member and resident “bassist, drums, and cellist combined” Mark Summer. Turtle Island finished the concert by inviting students from each of the three high schools to play the quartet’s most famous piece, “Stolen Moments” along with them. This encore was a treat as it included five improvised solos from Williamsville students: Jon Kim (cello, grade 10, WNHS), Grace Lee (cello, grade 11, WEHS), Celine Gosselin (viola, grade 11, WEHS), Teagan Faran (violin, grade 12, WEHS), and Aidan Scoccia (violin, grade 12, WNHS). The concert proved that no matter what, Williamsville students, parents, and teachers will always make sure that the show goes on.
