Last Friday, our Upper School orchestra students enjoyed a field trip to St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
“It was great to have the opportunity to take the Upper School Orchestra to Powell Hall, especially since many students had not had the opportunity to visit in a long time,” said Nicole Kovaluk, Middle/Upper School Strings Director. “St. Louis has a world-class symphony orchestra and I hope the students were inspired by not only the orchestra’s performance and musicianship, but by the history that’s imbued within Powell Hall and the Symphony itself. Going to the symphony is a wonderful experience that combines seeing professional musicians in action, hearing superb music, and experiencing some of the sights, sounds and culture of our city.”
“I thought the trip was nice to see how orchestra players have taken it to the next level,” said Janet He ’24. “I loved Powell Hall (the location where the symphony performed) because the architecture was absolutely gorgeous!”
To prepare for the concert, students formed small groups to research the composers featured on the program. Composers and works included Johan Sebastian Bach’s chorale prelude A Mighty Fortress is our God translated by both Stokowski and Damrosch, Joseph Haydn’s Sinfonia Concertante, Richard Wagner’s Prelude to Act I from Parsifal, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5, Reformation.
“I really enjoyed the trip because it made me appreciate how amazing professionals are at their instruments,” said Yash Malhotra ’25. “I really enjoyed how each piece could tell a story through different volumes, rhythms, speeds, etc.”
The groups then presented their findings to their classmates on the composers and their works, the history of the St. Louis Symphony and Powell Hall, and what it’s like to be a professional orchestra musician. Then it was time to head to Powell.
Emma Shao ’24 said, “I really enjoyed the field trip to Powell Hall! My favorite piece was probably the Haydn because the four soloists did an amazing job, and I especially liked the cello part. I thought it was also surprising (and impressive) that the conductor didn’t have the score for several of the pieces and was just conducting from memory.”
“The trip was very enjoyable; the music was very calming and it took a lot of anxeity off our shoulders,” said Selina Balci ’22. “The program was all based off of a Martin Luther hymn called A Mighty Fortress is Our God, and although I’m not Christian, it felt great to listen to spiritual music early in the morning on a Friday. One of my favorite pieces was Sinfonia Concertante in B-flat Major by Haydn, which was played by a quartet. It was really interesting to see both instruments that we were familiar seeing in a quartet setting, the violin and the cello, and instruments we knew relatively very little about, the bassoon and oboe, play together, and although I had initially thought it would be an odd grouping because of how they are either on the higher or lower end of orchestral instruments in terms of note range, I ended up loving how they all blended together. Each performer was amazingly skilled. My other favorite was the closing piece: Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 in D major, Reformation. It was very vibrant and lush, and I did not lose attention for a single moment. The finale ended with the same tune that opened the concert; they are two different pieces written by two composers whose lifetimes were nearly two centuries apart, but begin and end with the same melody, and I thought that was a great representation of how timeless and universal music is. I loved how that was the conclusion of the concert; it was almost like we had gone full circle. In terms of both performance and program, it was an excellent concert.”
Safi Junejo ’24 said, “This field trip was an opportunity I was grateful for because as it was announced, I realized that it was an opportunity that not many kids in my situation would be able to experience. The actual concert was magical, extraordinary and really gave students insight about what music was played in major orchestras. I was really excited for this opportunity, and I was not disappointed.”
“It was so great to be back at beautiful Powell Hall with the kids after two years away from live concerts,” said Erin Hamill, Strings Instructor. “The concert and music just seemed more special and more memorable than previous concerts because it had been so long.”