Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School of Music, and a few other sites in New York City are just some of the places that the Honors Trinity Chamber Orchestra explored on their trip to New York. This trip to New York, which lasted from October 24 – 27, was designed to give a musical experience to students in the Chamber Orchestra that would’ve not been otherwise available to them in Orlando.
“New York is a very special place in my life,” orchestra teacher Mauricio Cespedes said. “It’s the maker of classical music [and] there’s so many things [there] so I thought it was going to be a really nice experience.”
From these unique experiences in New York, students were able to learn so much more about music and how they could apply this to their own performances. One of these experiences included a concert from Eric Jacobson, the conductor of the Orlando Philharmonic.
“He was conducting the Knights orchestra at Carnegie Hall the day we arrived and I [asked if we could] come to the dress rehearsal,” Cespedes said. “ He said, ‘Of course, come and be there.’”
After witnessing the dress rehearsal and experiencing the concert later that evening in Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Orchestra went to see several more concerts at the Juilliard School and even a performance from a South African cellist named Abel Selaocoe.
“He played music that was inspired from tribal music,” junior Kayla Yufei Palomado said. “It was really fun because he made the audience sing along with him and made [us] clap and say the words repeated over and over again.”
Besides all the musical performances and events that the Chamber Orchestra attended, they also received time to further explore New York City.
“[We went on] a walking tour to just enjoy the city,” Cespedes said. “We went to the 9/11 memorial, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Statue of Liberty. We had lunch at Chinatown, went to the Rockefeller Center, then to Times Square and Central Park.”
Other than just watching different performances in New York City, the Chamber Orchestra also got the chance to practice their own music there at a masterclass. The two pieces of music that they decided to play were a repertory.
“One is Eldar 7-8 for strings [which is] really demanding but really beautiful, ” Cespedes said. “[The other was the] Sakovich Symphony for strings based on the string quartet #8. It was inspired by the Second World War and the work, the beats, and the music speak about the horrors of facism.”
The masterclass that the Chamber Orchestra took was taught by Mark Shapiro, an award-winning conductor of several orchestras, operas, and choirs in North America. He critiqued the performances of several different students while practicing.
“He made us rehearse it with our own sections and I feel like that really showed us what we needed help on,” Palomado said. “It made us better at it.”
Something that Shapiro also did was reorganize the order in which the members of the Chamber Orchestra were placed into the shape of a circle. This change was made in order to improve the communication between players and to help form a better bond between them.
“I felt like I could hear every section better,” Palomado said. “The sound was coming towards us into the center and I liked being able to cue people in.”
Though the trip lasted for around four days, students still had to miss certain events at home in order to make the trip. One of these events included Palomado’s birthday, which landed on October 26th but did not go unnoticed during the trip.
“I got a text and it said to go to the gym,” Palomado said. “When I went there, [my friends] put on a whole show and dance with Sabrina Carpenter songs because I missed [the concert and my birthday.].”
From all these varying experiences, Cespedes believes that students were greatly moved and inspired from them
“I really hope that the students who will go into music,” Cespedes said. “Get an appreciation of what they can get here but also look to places like New York for opportunities.”
For certain students these possible opportunities could mean a lot for their futures.
“I have two or three students and for them this trip was eye opening,” Cespedes said. “You know you’re walking New York and everyone is carrying a Violet a cello. There is so much going on in this area.”
