Austin, All-Division and more

Orchestra performs in state capitol, all-division concert

By Bennett Trubey | Arts & Life Editor

Upper School Orchestra traveled to Austin on Nov. 15 to perform at the Texas State Capitol.

The students played their new program, “Stars at Night,” in the rotunda. The program features music inspired by the state of Texas, such as “Baile de Lila.”

“While we have done many social impact performances in the past, we have not traveled outside of Dallas while I have been the orchestra director at Hockaday,” Charlsie Griffiths ‘98, the US director of orchestral music, said.

The students began preparing for the event at the beginning of the school year, practicing their “Stars at Night” and “The Carnival of the Animals” programs.

Orchestra previewed both programs during the US assembly on Nov. 8 and plans to continue performing the music as part of their Social Impact project.

Griffiths said when curating new programs, she typically listens to a large variety of music and then decides on a theme, idea or specific piece to center the selection around.

The environment of the rotunda was unlike any place the students had played in, with balconies full of people and many passersby listening to and watching the performance.

“A lot of people came up to us saying how much they enjoyed it,” senior violinist Riley Yuan said. She shared that a spectator even found them afterwards and took a selfie with the group.

Angela Fan, a junior cellist, said that the majority of the students were nervous leading up to the performance, but that they were more excited than anything. “We were a little concerned just because it was a different setting than we normally play in,” she said.

As a whole, the trip served as a great opportunity for the orchestra to get to know one another better than they can in class.

“I enjoyed the camaraderie of the orchestra members and having time to spend with one another without many other distractions or stresses,” Griffiths said. “It was a great team building experience.”

The three-hour bus ride also allowed members to create many fun memories together on the way to and back from Austin. The group played games, chatted and even made a stop at Buc-ee’s on the way back.

“We have a bunch of different grades in orchestra, so it was nice to be on the bus and have a team bonding experience,” Fan said.

Orchestra also performed in the All-Division Concert on Dec. 8. The concert included performances by the Lower School, Middle School and Upper School orchestras.

“This is our first all-division concert for orchestra,” Griffiths said, “but we have played multi-division concerts in the past. For example, Middle School and Upper School performed together in 2018 and 2019 and traditionally, in the spring, the Lower School performs with the Middle School in a concert.”

Griffiths has worked alongside the lead organizer of the concert, Yung-Fang Hu Ludford, the director of the Middle

School Orchestra Program, and Chérine Chlone, a Middle and Upper School French teacher. Chlone served as a liaison with the National Arab Orchestra – Dallas Chapter, which played in the concert as well.

“The remainder of the school year is very busy for the orchestra,” Griffiths said. She said students will have more performances to look forward to with the North Park Center performance and Winter Concert still to come.