Orchestra
performances In orchestra, we have done multiple songs such as Ichabod's walk, and Hessian's Ride, scenes from sleepy hollow. In String Ensemble, we performed Jupiter which has a difficult key and time signatures that change frequently. Both songs have their own individual difficulties. We performed in the concert on October 18th, and we performed all of those songs fairly well. Next term, we are playing Dreams of Fireflies by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and O Holy Night, but rearranged for an all-string orchestra. String Ensemble is playing a piece called 5 Ukranians in a Bell Tower, because it is a twist on the Ukranian Bell Carol, but the time signature is changed into 5/4. Chamber is playing Troika and will be performing in the next concert, unlike the previous concert. Chamber will also be playing before the Nutcracker by the Spindle City Ballet at the Bristol Community College in the Performing Arts Building Auditorium. We, after the Vespers Concert, have started to work on pieces for the string festival. There is an arrangement of the soundtrack for the movie Theory of Everything and will be played by the string ensemble. For orchestra, we are playing an arrangement of songs from Pixar movies. Both pieces are arranged by Robert Longfield. Right before the concert, however, the orchestra's plans changed. Ms. Arruda, our strings teacher, got a new job in Dennis- Yarmouth, so we have a new strings teacher now, Ms. Faris. The spring concert came quickly after the String Festival, where we played A Parting Blessing, Momentum, Amadare, American Princess, Agincourt, Bring Me to Life, and Tarantella. Those pieces were played by the orchestra, String ensemble, and Chamber ensemble. After that concert, we did not have any other performances, but I took place in another extra curricular, the Pit Orchestra for the spring musical, Sister Act. After Sister Act, the orchestra just practiced their scales and prepared for the final exam, where we sight read and do 2 octave and 3 octave scales.
Marching Band & Winter Percussion:
The Somerset Berkley Blue Raider Marching Band rehearses in the band room every Monday 5-9 PM, Wednesday 5-9 PM, occasional Friday rehearsals 5-8, and Saturdays 7:30 AM- 3 PM. Competitions take place on Saturdays and Sundays starting the first week of September to the First week of November, including New England State Championships, Regional competitions, and Nationals. We compete in both USBands and NESBA competitions, and NESBA scoring is much more complex than USBands. We take part in many local parades, usually Christmas parades up until the 2nd week of December. After that, we have once a month rehearsal to prepare for next year's show that starts back up in September. Also, there is a 2 week band camp during the last 2 weeks of August where we rehearse from 9 AM to 3 or 4 PM everyday. The 2016-2017 Marching Band performed a show entitled "The Harder They Fall" which is retelling the fairytale stories about giants. We played in Putnam, CT for our first competition. After 3 consecutive wins, we performed at the Musictown Ball. We had 5 consecutive wins the day we performed in Cranston, RI. That same day, we hosted Kiddies' Day at the high school where kids and families come and learn about the marching band and play the instruments and learn how to get involved. We placed 2nd behind Case High in our first NESBA competition of the season. We hosted a home show on October 22nd, where the competition is held at our school. We won New England State championships the next weekend, meaning we are the best band in New England in our division. Then, the Marching Band members were excused from school on Friday, November 4th and headed on a bus to Pennsylvania for the USBands national competition. There, we placed 2nd best band in the country, with the best color guard in the country. We took part in multiple parades after competition season was over in cities including Quincy, Stoughton, and Fall River. We now take part in once a month rehearsals and meetings to prepare for next year. We also are participating in the Memorial Day parade in Somerset. During the winter months, I take part in the Somerset Berkley Winter Percussion Ensemble, which is basically an indoor marching band group, but only the drum line and the pit (percussion). We learn a show and compete just like during the Marching Band season. The marching band, however, gets more experiences from it like teamwork, friendship, leadership, and work ethic skills. This year's show is about the bad wolf and little red riding hood, but through the wolf's perspective. We competed in competitions in Dartmouth High, King Philip High, Cranston East High, Somerset Berkley High, Dudley High, and Championships in Salem, which was originally scheduled in Worcester at the DCI Center (Drum Corps International). Winter percussion ended with a 6th place win at championships with a score of 96. Once winter was over, Marching Band has the Memorial day parade in Somerset on May 29th. The next Marching Band year starts soon, and I am the Pit Captain for next year's show, The Voyage, where we will once again compete at Nationals and then next April march down Main Street U.S.A in the center of Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.