The orchestra takes in their applause.
Lilly Faye Kraemer | Collegian
After concertmaster and senior Mikey Berry walked on stage, an oboe played a strong “A” to commence tuning with the wind instruments, followed by the strings for the Hillsdale College Symphony Orchestra’s performances on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon for Parents’ Weekend.
More than 72 student musicians and two student vocalists packed the stage of Christ Chapel on Oct. 25. The large audience listened to pieces from the Romantic era filled with deep and complex themes selected by Professor of Music James Holleman.
Romantic music is best known for its rich harmonies, dramatic climaxes, and nationalistic melodies embedded in each piece. The concert’s repertoire included two works by German composers: “Lohengrin: Prelude to Act III” by Richard Wagner and excerpts from the opera “Hansel and Gretel” by Engelbert Humperdinck. Holleman chose “Symphony No. 2 in D Major” by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius to conclude the concert.
“We had more rehearsals for this concert than we will for the next one, so I was able to pick heavier music,” Holleman said. “I do ask the students what excites them. I don’t take requests, but I do love their suggestions, and Sebelius came up a lot. It’s one of my favorites.”
The concert was nearly two hours long and featured student vocalists senior Rachel Dunphey and senior Sophia LaBonte during the “Abendsegen” excerpt for “Hansel and Gretel.”
“The human voice always brings in a deeper emotional element,” senior Alya MacManaway said from the audience. “Of course, the orchestra sets the scene, but when you hear the human voice it just touches your heartstrings in a different way.”
The “Hansel and Gretel” excerpts were a favorite of Kevin Franco, a second-year classical education graduate student and cellist for the symphony.
“It’s a really great Romantic motivic work with lots of recurring themes. The instrumentation is extremely colorful. The harmonies are very electric and rich,” Franco said.
According to Holleman, it is a joint effort to bring these challenging pieces to life during rehearsal. Holleman also said that in the orchestra there are only 10 music majors, while the rest of the musicians play in the orchestra as an elective.
“Everyone practices the pieces on their own so we are able to get better a lot quicker,” freshman and trumpet player Samuel Goetz said. “It’s nice just being able to get in there and play a piece.”
Holleman credits the orchestra’s sound to the students.
“These students just lift me,” Holleman said. “They energize me, they rock my world. They’re just amazing.”
In terms of technical difficulty, “Lohengrin,” by Wagner, was the most complex because of the sheer number of notes, according to Franco.
“The ranges of all the instruments are pushed to their limits, so the cellos, for example, have to go much higher than they normally do,” Franco said. “The low brass has to be much more nimble, its notes are faster than they normally are. It’s a professional grade repertoire.”
The orchestra received a standing ovation when the final notes settled from Sibelius’s “Symphony No. 2.”
“For the strings, the winds and the brass to play the repertoire we played tonight at this level, I hope people understand how special and difficult it is to put an orchestra on stage and play this consistently,” Holleman said. “I’m absolutely over the moon thrilled right now.”
