Ninth Grade Orchestra
Aura Lee …………………..………………………………………….George R. Poulton
arr. Starr
There is a treasure trove of popular song associated with the American Civil War: The Battle Hymn
of the Republic, Dixie, The Yellow Rose of Texas, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Turkey in
the Straw, Shenandoah, and Aura Lee among them. Published by George Poulton and lyricist W.W.
Fosdick in 1861 as a love song, the tune has been recycled with new words many times, as recently
as 2009 for an episode of How I Met Your Mother, and most famously as the Elvis Presley hit, Love
Me Tender. Following is an excerpt from the original lyrics:
In thy blush the rose was born,
Music, when you spake,
Through thine azure eye the morn,
Sparkling seemed to break.
Aura Lee, Aura Lee,
Maid with golden hair;
Sunshine came along with thee,
And swallows in the air.
Dance Rhythmico …………………..……………………………………….Jeff Frizzi
This light-hearted, syncopated work gives every section a chance to shine. Jeff Frizzi is the orchestra
director at Clay Middle School in Carmel, Indiana.
Camerata Strings
Tangerine…………………………………………..…….………….Victor Schertzinger
Arr. Caponegro
Schertzinger partnered with lyricist Johnny Mercer to compose music for the 1942 movie, The
Fleet’s In, which Schertzinger also directed. In this light-hearted story, a group of sailors on shore
leave place bets on a shy shipmate’s ability to romance an aloof nightclub singer. The lyrics to the
Latin-tinged song, Tangerine, tells of a renowned Argentinian beauty: “Tangerine, she is all they
claim, With her eyes of night and lips bright as flame… But her heart belongs to just one, Her heart
belongs to Tangerine.” Now part of the American Songbook canon, the original release of Tangerine
by the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra spent six weeks atop the Billboard chart.
Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen…………......….….African-American Spiritual
Arr. Gruselle
The term “spirituals” refers to religious songs, usually of a Christian context, created by enslaved
African people in the United States. While we don’t know the details of the song’s origin, Nobody
Knows the Trouble I’ve Had was included in the 1867 publication, Slave Songs of the United States,
the first historical record of this genre. Many historically important African-American singers,
including Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Mahalia Jackson, and the
Deep River Boys include this song in their discography.
String Orchestra
“Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz.……….Harold Arlen and E.Y Harburg
arr. Carson Rothrock
The National Endowment for the Arts named this Academy Award-winning song, made famous by Judy
Garland, the “Song of the Century,” and the American Film Institute deemed it “the greatest movie song of
all time.” “Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that’s where you’ll find
me…”
“Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas.…………….……………..….….Alan Menken
arr. Moss
Menken wrote the music for many of the great Disney movies of the last twenty-five years, Beauty and The
Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Tangled among them. He partnered with lyricist Alan Menken to
produce the score to Pocahontas (1995), which included the Oscar-winning song, “Colors of the Wind.”
“Let It Go” from Frozen……......………Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
arr. Moore
In the original script for Frozen (2013), Queen Elsa – voiced by Broadway star Idina Menzel – was a
villain. The songwriters saw Elsa differently: as a girl struggling to come to terms with a powerful
and dangerous gift. The movie’s script was rewritten and “Let It Go” went on to win the Academy
Award for Best Original Song and become the first song from a Disney feature to reach the Billboard
top ten since “Colors of the Wind.”
Stand By Me.…………….………..….….Ben E. King, Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller
arr. Lowden
The original 1961 release of “Stand By Me” went to No. 4 on the Billboard charts, and it returned to the
Top Ten in 1986 with a re-release coinciding with a movie of the same name. Inspired by the spiritual,
“Stand By Me, Father” written by Rev. Charles Albert Tindley, it was named by Broadcast Music
Incorporated as the fourth most-performed song of the 20th century. “When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me….”
Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 ……………………Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
I. Allegro aperto – Adagio – Allegro aperto
Christine Ko, violin
Mozart (1756-1791) was only nineteen years old when he composed his fifth, and final, concerto. He
wrote the first a few years earlier and the other four all in 1775. One of several surprises in this
concerto occurs early in the first movement. The orchestra begins without the soloist, playing a catchy
but simple theme at a moderately fast tempo, standard procedure for the first movement of a concerto
from this period. What should happen next is a repeat of the opening material with the violinist
playing the now-familiar tunes and the orchestra providing a simple accompaniment. Instead, Mozart
brings the orchestra to a halt and the soloist enters with a dream-like Adagio unrelated to the previous
material. After this brief but beautiful excursion, the orchestra and soloist return to the opening
material, but with the violin adding a new melodic idea over the orchestra – which, it turns out, was
essentially playing the accompaniment part without the soloist the first time through! From there, the
concerto proceeds as expected through the development and recapitulation of themes.
Tonight’s soloist, Christine Ko, daughter of Tae Seok Ko and Yoonjeon Chi, has studied violin with
Sally O’Reilly at the University of Minnesota for seven years. Christine has earned multiple Best in
Site recognitions at Region Contest and is a two-time member of the Minnesota All-State Orchestra
(Co-Concertmaster 2013-2014). She will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
next fall, majoring in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Symphony Orchestra
Millennium……………………………………….……….………….Richard Meyer
Millennium was premiered in 1998 by the All Southern California Junior High Orchestra, and was
named the winner of the National School Orchestra Association Composition Contest the same year.
Preceded by a short but foreboding introduction, the piece falls into three thematic sections. The
brasses introduce the heroic main theme, followed by a lyrical theme stated first by the cellos and
then by the entire orchestra. The third and final section is an energetic march, pitting brass against
the woodwinds and strings. The work closes with a majestic restatement of the main theme. Richard
Meyer, a public school orchestra teacher in Temple City, California, has published over 130 works
for string and full orchestra.
Ballet Parisien…………………………………………….………….Jacques Offenbach
Arr. Isaac
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Overture from La Vie Parisienne
Valse from La Perichole
Galop from La Vie Parisienne
Valse from Orpheus in the Underworld
Finale (“Can-Can”) from Orpheus in the Underworld
Composers Richard Wagner (Germany) and Giuseppe Verdi (Italy) dominated opera in the mid1800s. Though their works were much admired, the subjects of their operas were heavy – Norse
mythology and romantic tragedy. Enter the operetta – light opera on light subjects – the 19th
century’s musical equivalent of the modern-day television sitcom. Gilbert and Sullivan were
England’s leading purveyors of operetta, while Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880) lit the footlights in
Paris. Operetta would eventually evolve into the modern Broadway musical. The spirited and elegant
melodies of Ballet Parisien are drawn from three of Offenbach’s most popular works.