On Thursday, Nov. 16, District 200 orchestra students of all ages came together to put on the annual Southside Orchestra Festival in Wheaton Warrenville South High School’s Orange and Black Gym for audience members. The aim of this yearly event is to inspire the younger orchestra students to continue and grow in their passion for music.

The performance included fifth-grade orchestra students who attended Whittier, Madison, Lincoln, Johnson, Wiesbrook, and Bower Elementary Schools, eighth-grade orchestra students from Edison and Hubble, and high school orchestra students in South’s Sinfonia. Sinfonia is South’s top audition orchestra ensemble and is directed by Allison Chang.

Under the leadership of Victoria Sanguinetti, the elementary students hit off the concert with five songs: “On the Trail”, “Walking Song”, “Rolling Along”, “Good King Wenceslas”, “Serenata”, and “The Quiz”. The musicians used the technique of pizzicato, which is the plucking of the strings on the instrument to play notes! The crowd was thrilled to hear them perform.

Up next were the eighth graders, who played “Wildfire”, a fast-paced, exciting piece composed by Kathryn Griesinger, and “Harvest Moon”, a graceful piece with a dance feel to it, composed by Brian Balmages. Lisa Volle and Priscilla Suh are the two middle school orchestra directors.

South’s Sinfonia Orchestra performed “Hoedown” from the ballet, Rodeo. An upbeat, lively piece by Aaron Copland, it was highly anticipated, as it is tradition for Sinfonia to perform Hoedown at the festival.

The concert ended with one final song – “Bile’Em Cabbage Down”, a fiddle tune. All of the orchestras joined to play this song together.

Morgan Hoey, a freshman violinist, reflected on the event: “It’s amazing to see and hear the improvement made and just a joyful experience overall. At the very end of the concert, we all play one piece together, and it’s an amazing experience!

Definitely recommend joining and staying in the orchestra for the best conductors, and the best experiences!

Overall, the festival was a huge success, and many are looking forward to South’s upcoming orchestra concert, which will take place on Thursday, Dec 14.