On Oct. 31, the orchestra delivered a stunning 2-hour performance in an exchange concert with Lynbrook High School’s chamber orchestra. Combined, the two were able to play a wide variety of challenging pieces effortlessly.

“You see on this stage a wealth of talent, skill and hard work,” said Lynbrook High orchestra conductor Dr. John Felder. “The thing that knocks me out about these kids is that ego doesn’t matter. They love their music and know that it’s a lot better to give than to receive. As a teacher, that is a wonderful thing to experience.”

Through the joint concert, students from both schools had a chance to mingle and share their thoughts on music.

“We knew we would do more concerts together later on, so we went up to the Lynbrook kids and made new friends,” said sophomore violinist Tiffany Tu. “It was also a really cool experience to have a large orchestra performing on stage.”

One of the highlights of the evening was a piece composed by Edgar Elgar, which featured junior cellist Walter Hsiang, senior violinists Cindy Chang and Annie Ting and senior violist Kevin Hsu in a quartet. Hsu had been playing violin for seven years before he decided to switch to viola, which he has now been playing for two years.

“I was really excited that I had this solo in the concert. This was my moment to shine,” said Hsu. “All these years of hard work have finally paid off.”

For the grand finale, the combined orchestras to play the Capriccio Espagnol, a 5-movement piece by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakoff.

“In the beginning, this piece was pretty hard to play. But once we found the notes and practiced some more, we were able to pull it off,” said junior violinist Joycelyn Tan.

At the end of the concert, Felder complimented Boitz and all the students for their hard work.

Said Felder, “If someone asked me where to find a successful program where the kids are really learning about music and how to be wonderful students, I would send them to the music program here at Saratoga.”