A what concert?

I am not shy about announcing my pride in Klein Oak High School Orchestra performances. I might be a tad biased. I will confess to bias. However, I have to say that after tonight’s orchestral performance, all bias is now out the window…Klein Oak High School Orchestra rocks! Okay in all fairness they did not do it alone, they had the help of the choir and band, but all I have to say is, “Wow!”

Tonight was the “Masterworks Concert” that they have spent the past month or so really working toward. Andrew is in full orchestra so this has been full on heavy rehearsals for a month or so. His wrists are showing the wear and tear. If they did not enjoy this so much, they would not do it, right? Musicians are like athletes, right? They do it in spite of the pain. They do it for the love the the game…Well tonight showed just how much love these kids have for their musical game.

First task was setting up the stage. The venue was The Centrum at the Cypress Creek Christian Community Center. It is not a huge venue, but it is larger than the high school auditorium. It has good acoustics as well. There is a large parking lot to help accommodate the large amounts of people who might attend.

You probably cannot see it from this picture, but there is a stage extension on the front of the stage. It comes right out to the front row of seats. I believe it was a 6 foot stage extension.

It is a shame that this picture is blurry, but alas it is a little. This is a picture of the initial crew on stage. This is not the entire group. This was during warm-ups. As you can see, not everyone has crowded into the audience yet.

Again, it is a shame the picture ended up being blurry but you can see the size of the group and how the audience was filling in nicely. I was sitting in the very last row in the aisle seat. There was actually a column right next to me and I was up against the column. By the time the audience filled up, it was standing room only.

The night was an amazing night pure musical delight. Tonight’s Masterwork Concert was Carmina Burana. Initially, each group performed a non-related piece as an individual performing group – orchestra, band, and choir. Each did a fascinating job. I was most impressed by the orchestra and choir. The trombone solo from the band was just a bit over the top for my tastes. It was not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it was just more than I wanted.

After the initial pieces were completed, the entire group started the Carmina Burana performance. It was stunning! Amazing! Breathtaking!