A full-sized orchestra is usually made up of 70-100 musicians. In school-aged orchestras, these numbers can be even fewer. Each year, Academy’s middle school orchestra teams up with Wellington and CSG’s middle school orchestras to form one group of around 150 musicians.

The groups prepare four pre-determined pieces individually, with one four-hour rehearsal together before their performance. They also hold individual section rehearsals and a group practice.

This year’s performance on Sunday, February 2, featured four songs of varying genre, from “Scottish Folk Song” to “Phantom Train.”

All four pieces were excellent, especially considering the limited times for rehearsals. The groups were well put-together and it sounded as if they had rehearsed together for longer than four hours.