On October 19th, Sahuaro’s chamber orchestra went to Tucson High to perform in an orchestra festival hosted by ABODA (Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association). After delivering an awesome array of music, they received a “superior” rating, which is the second best musical rating a school can receive, after “superior with distinction.”

Schools from all over Tucson like Empire, Cienega, Desert View, Sabino, and Sahuaro played in the festival. Other schools from Southern Arizona came to perform as well. From Phoenix, Central and Red Mountain High School and from Queen Creek, Queen Creek High School.

The orchestra festival lasted all day, starting at 7 in the morning and ending around 7 at night. It was a busy day for orchestra teachers, students, and judges. The friendly students at Tucson High politely helped throughout the day to make sure the festival was running smoothly. 

All of the orchestras got to warm-up, perform, and then have a clinic after. If you would like to see all the results, click here.

The chamber orchestra performed three songs. They performed “America” from West Side Story, “Pavane”, and “Symphony No.B”. All three pieces had different musical styles and were diverse in complexity, rhythm, and style. The clinician was Ruth Kurtis, a well known active participant in the orchestral music scene around the world. She worked with the group on how to emphasize certain elements of the music and other technical aspects. When asked how he felt on Kurtis’ teaching, a senior that has been in Sahuaro’s orchestra since freshman year, Joshua Comfort answered, “I found Ruth’s energy very exciting and fun to follow.”

The orchestra received a plaque and a pretty sweet pep-talk after their performance.  Paul Le, another Sahuaro senior in the orchestra, said ” I wish we could have stayed longer!” While they were only at the festival for a short while, they earned a great award. Sahuaro’s talented musicians are hardworking and never disappoint.