Orchestra prepares to make a historic debut at national conference in Atlanta later this month

All four of the school’s orchestras will be attending the 2025 American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference in Atlanta, from March 19-22 for the first time.

The conference is an annual premier event designed for string educators, performers and students. For the past 79 years, the event has aimed to advance string education by showcasing music events such as masterclasses, workshops, exhibit halls, lectures and competitions.

 

Orchestra program auditions for ASTA National Conference in 2024

The school was one of the 20 selected for the conference. High school orchestras from other states across the country, including from Colorado, Texas and New York, will also participate in the conference. 

According to ASTA, the difference between the ASTA National Conference and other well-known music festivals or clinics like the Midwest Clinic — which the Saratoga Strings attended in 2023 —  is that the conference is focused on string orchestra instruments and is dedicated to string teaching and performance. 

The school orchestras will be attending and competing in the conference’s largest event, the National Orchestra Festival. This festival introduces junior and high school orchestra musicians to a national community of musicians, showcasing their talent and rigorous preparation from over the school year. 

As part of the competitive audition process to gain entry into the festival, directors sent video recordings of two works — contrasting both in tempo and style — from the past years’ ensemble. Music director Michael Boitz also submitted a history of the orchestra program, including achievements the program has garnered in its 27 years with him leading it, such as consistent unanimous superior ratings at the CMEA Festival and performances at the Midwest Clinic in 2014, 2018 and 2023.

 

Music directors rearrange and lead the orchestras in preparation for competition

A strict rule for the festival, which hindered the 144-member orchestra department, was that only a maximum of two ensembles within each school could participate in the festival, with only one ensemble taking part in the orchestra competition. 

In order to bring all orchestra members to the conference, Boitz combined the Freshmen Orchestra (FO) and Philharmonic Strings (PS) together, as well as the Saratoga Orchestra (SO) and Saratoga Strings (SS), to form two distinct ensembles — the Saratoga Philharmonic and the Saratoga Strings respectively. 

“I wanted to bring everyone on this exciting and meaningful tour, making it the largest trip since the Europe tour in 2022,” Boitz said. “Fortunately, this fit the veil perfectly because we’re traveling to Atlanta and attending the conference for the first time in school history.”

Saratoga Strings will be competing and performing a total of five pieces: “Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani” by Bohuslav Martinu; “Andante Moderato from String Quartet No. 1 in G Major” by Florence Price; “Pastoral and Rustic Dances from Concerto Grosso for String Orchestra with Piano Obbligato” by Ernest Bloch; “Adagietto from Symphony No. 5” by Gustav Mahler and “Vivace non-troppo from Symphony no. 2 for Strings” by Arthur Honegger.

Meanwhile, Saratoga Philharmonic will be performing six pieces:  “Allegro from Sinfonia No. 2 in D Major” by Mendelssohn; “Adagio from Symphony No. 2, by Howard Hanson; “The Rough Open Sea from Voyage” by Reena Esmail; “In the Dreams of Zhou” by Stephen Chin; “The Old Boatman” by Florence Price and “The Lost Relic” by Chris Pilsner.

When creating their performance set list, Boitz and music director Jason Shiuan decided on tackling significantly challenging repertoires. Because the conference also requires orchestras to include at least one composition by a composer from a historically marginalized group, Boitz and Shiuan chose Florence Price (1887-1953), the first female African-American composer recognized as a symphonic composer to include in the repertoire.

“I believe in the cause of representing underrepresented composers from underrepresented backgrounds,” Boitz said. “Composing and conducting in the music field is slowly improving, but it still is very sexist and male-dominant. I champion the undiscovered music by those composers, and I think it’s my job to introduce and familiarize the audience with these kinds of music.” 

In choosing the pieces, Boitz also takes note to showcase unique techniques on instruments or introduce varying genres of music because string orchestras have limited color palette, and some people may find it challenging to listen to a full hour-long concert. 

Said Boitz: “I enjoy conducting a string orchestra piece involving other non-string instruments, such as piano or percussion to vary the color of the concert, because I think it creates a more consistent flow with the audience.”

Although the conference is focused on string instruments, the National Orchestra Festival allows all instruments featured in orchestra music, including non-string instruments. 

As a result, Boitz included strong pianists sophomore Eric Lin and junior Esad Melikzade playing the Martinu and Bloch pieces respectively. He also invited senior trumpet player Nathan Lee, who performed at the Midwest Clinic alongside Saratoga Strings in 2023 to play in Honegger. Additionally, the orchestra features junior Jeremy Huang, playing the timpani part in Martinu. Closing the concert with a final flourish, sophomores Jenny Jiang, Sarah Jiang, Ian Kim, Ethan Lee, Thomas Lung and Tanvee Tirthapura, all members of Saratoga Strings, will join the Saratoga Philharmonic to play the heavy percussion in “The Lost Relic.”

Since the beginning of the school year, student musicians in the competitive ensemble Saratoga Strings have been rehearsing 6p.m-8:15 p.m. on Blue Day Wednesdays as well as 2:45 p.m.-3:45 p.m. on Blue Day Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is an addition to their fourth-period orchestra classes.

The final benchmark in the preparation process for the conference was the Orchestra Spring Concert on March 7 at the McAfee Theatre. This preview concert served as an opportunity for both orchestra ensembles to experience performing the entire program — spanning over half an hour for each ensemble — as well as to share their music and preparation process with parents and the community.

 

Despite obstacles, orchestra presses on

Making preparation for the festival more challenging was that on Dec. 26, Boitz underwent an arduous 7-hour cervical spine surgery, a surgical procedure performed on the bones and discs in the neck. The recovery process has been a much slower process than expected. 

While he plans to travel with the orchestra to Atlanta, he is leaving his usual conducting duties to others. Boitz’s close friend and a talented conductor Joni Swenson, the former orchestra director at Santa Monica High, will be stepping in as an interim director for the conference performance. 

“When Boitz and Shuian asked me back in December about traveling to Atlanta with the orchestra, I was thrilled,” Swenson said. “It’s a huge honor that the group has been selected to be a part of this festival, and I’m happy to be a part of it. Alongside the performance, every aspect at the conference for string players will be eye-opening; students are going to see many different orchestras all over the country.”

The orchestra’s streamlined progress over the months wouldn’t have been possible without the support of three guest clinicians and musicians helping the orchestra from the very first day of the school year, despite their busy performing and teaching schedules.

Swenson has actively helped the orchestra by conducting rehearsals, hosting the violin sectional rehearsals and more. Alongside Swenson, professional violinist Sarah Lee and Los Gatos High orchestra director and double bassist Armeen Ghafourpour, has aided the ensemble by coaching and guiding both individuals and groups. Their dedication has been crucial in the orchestra’s growth, ensuring each student receives the attention needed to succeed.   

In another setback, Ian Kim, the principal double bassist of Saratoga Strings, dislocated his left arm back in late February, preventing him from playing in the orchestra as a section leader. Over the next few days, Kim hopes to recover in time to perform at the conference. 

Kim also spends extra time helping the section leaders learn their own parts to be more dependable during rehearsals.

“The principals and I have been working together during tutorials to be more reliable within the section,” Kim said. “Implementing seat changing during rehearsals — where students in the back of the orchestra move to the front — is a brilliant idea to spotlight non-section leaders and motivate them to familiarize themselves with the piece.”

With under two weeks left before the conference, Kim is excited to not only showcase the piece the orchestra has worked diligently on, but also spend quality time with his friends in Atlanta. 

Students will have the opportunity to explore other aspects of the ASTA Conference, including the exhibit hall, clinics, and master classes. Following their performance, they will also visit the Georgia Aquarium, the second-largest aquarium in the world.

 “To be honest, the fact that I get to be in a different place with my friends for days is the best part of any trip or tour that we go on. It’s a great way to bond with friends,” Kim said.