ALTON - Famous author Victor Hugo once said, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”
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Over 180 students from the Alton School District have been gifted with the talent of music performance and were able to showcase their skills live for their friends and family at Stringsation, held Thursday evening in the Alton High School gymnasium.
Young musicians from East and West Elementary as well as Alton Middle and High Schools were led by Julie Carter, Sally Pierce and Laura Plummer for the night filled with orchestral fun.
"I love this type of concert," Plummer, the orchestra director at Alton High, said between songs at the program. "It is a great way to show the progression and experience these students gain as they begin elementary school and work their way up through middle and high school."
The All-District Elementary Orchestra performed traditional tunes "Mary Lee" and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while the 5th Grade Honors Orchestra performed "Bridge to MacDonalds."
Carter conducted the AMS 6th Grade Orchestra through performances of "Ode to Joy," "St. Anthony's Chorale" and "Antagonist." The 7th and 8th Grade Orchestra had the opportunity to work with their student teacher, Hannah Kehe. She directed the group through the piece "Gauntlet" by Doug Sparta before Pierce returned to the podium to direct Brian Balmages' "Forever Joyful."
Plummer then lead the AHS Symphonic Orchestra in a performance of Richard Meyer's "Miraj." After a brief rearrangement, the entire AHS Orchestra performed an interesting piece titled "Curse of the Rosin Eating Zombies from Outer Space," which sounded like something out of a sci-fi horror movie of the same name. The song included "screaming" solos and other enamoring elements. For their last piece, the group performed something quite familiar to audiences; one of the famous songs from the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
For the Stringsation grand finale, the entire group of musicians synchronized for a performance of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy." When the conductors dropped their arms and battons, marking the end of the song and the concert, the audience erupted in applause and gave the group a standing ovation.
Though music expresses what can not be said, it is apparent that the music programs from the Alton School District are giving these children something so incredibly unique: a voice.
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