Audience members gathered into Munsey United Methodist Church on Friday to hear a performance of classical music put on by the ETSU Chamber Orchestra and the Sinfonia Orchestra.
The concert was presented by the ETSU Music Department and the ETSU Pre-College Department in collaboration with the Academy of Strings. The concert was split into two parts so both of the orchestras could play. Although a great program for ETSU, the orchestra is only about a year old.
“This started last semester in the spring of 2016. This is the second semester,” Orchestra Director David Kovac said.
Kovac said that it took about ten weeks to prepare for the concert. The orchestras would meet once a week on Saturday for two hours. Both the Sinfonia Orchestra and the ETSU Chamber Orchestra consisted of members whose ages ranged from ETSU faculty to 17 and under.
“This is my eleventh year playing,” said orchestra member Marcus Pack. “I really enjoy performing these pieces.”
The concert consisted of music pieces composed by artists such as Vivaldi, Albinoni and Grieg. Where some pieces had as many as seven musical movements within the piece, others were short and only had three musical movements.
“I try to choose different time periods like the Baroque or the Romantic one for the Holberg Suite,” Kovac said. “Just kind of a variety of different arrangements and different styles and techniques to cover an hour of music.”
Both the ETSU Chamber Orchestra and the Sinfonia Orchestra played the selected musical pieces with professional skill and dedication, allowing the audience members to see orchestra music performed in a smaller setting and how their skills had grown over time.
“I think this is their chance to present a professional concert,” Kovac said. “They can get a chance to see what it feels like to play in a professional group. They worked really hard for this.”
