The spring concert offers more diverse and challenging musical selections than the winter and festival concerts. The orchestra director often takes advantage of the opportunity for the students to play music of different styles or genres.

Graduating seniors are offered the opportunity to perform a "senior solo" with or without accompaniment. For the more advanced students, this can be a once-in-a-lifetime solo performance with a full orchestral or symphonic accompaniment. The pieces they choose are often original arrangements that challenge the senior and the orchestra.

This year's concert includes a representative mix of music.

Four seniors chose to perform classical works with full accompaniment. Robert Marriott, associate concertmaster, and Jason Lee, assistant concertmaster, performed movements from Spring, one of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Dan Claff, assistant principal cellist, performed a movement from a well-known cello concerto by J.C. Bach

Anita Chen, violinist, chose to play her "other" instrument, the piano. She performed a movement from a Beethoven piano concerto with full symphonic accompaniment. Click here for a recording of Miss Chen's performance.

Two seniors chose to perform solo works. Allie Tran, violist, played a classical piece for solo viola by Senaille. Mariessa Burgess, violinist, a played a traditional Gypsy tune.

A special treat was a solo piece involving two juniors.

Chris Doheny, cellist (on right), performed a new age composition by Brian Scarbrough, assistant principal in second violins (on left) on piano. Click here for a recording of Mr. Doheny's performance.

Mr. Doheny also played the piano accompaniment for Pirates of the Caribbean in this concert. He played the keyboard during other orchestra concerts this year as well as with the pit orchestra for Damn Yankees. He is a member of HHS' highly-regarded Madrigal Singers.

Mr. Scarbrough took second place in the Reflections program for another composition earlier this year. The HHS symphonic orchestra performed his Fantasia on Twinkles at the Spring 2004 concert.

Ms. Gawinski's selections for the symphony included the overture from an 18th century Italian opera, an orchestral tribute to James Dean, and a medley from the musical Wicked. Clear here for a recording of the symphony's performance of Wicked.

Ms. Gawinski's selections for the concert string orchestra included Variations on an Appalachian Hymn, a medley from Fiddler on the Roof, and a modern piece written for youth orchestra.

For the finale, Ms. Gawinski had the concert and symphonic string orchestras come together on stage to play a medley from the soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean. Click here for a recording of the combined orchestras performance of Pirates. The symphony orchestra previously performed Pirates during the 2004 spring concert.

Upon hearing recordings of their performance, students often exclaim, "If we only had enough time for two more rehearsals, we would have sounded so much better." That may be true. Preparation began in earnest after the spring musical but coincided with successive weeks of Standards of Learning tests, Advanced Placement exams, College Boards, and final exams. Opportunities for after-school rehearsals were limited and the symphony had only three rehearsals with all instruments prior to the concert. Moreover, the brass, woodwinds and percussion were busy preparing for the band's spring concert!

We believe anyone hearing these recordings from the spring concert cannot fail to be impressed by the musical talent of students at Herndon High.