OYSO concert proves instrumental in igniting musical musings for next generation

Musicians from the Oshkosh Youth Symphony Orchestra (OYSO) and district fourth graders came ‘Full Steam Ahead’ into November with back-to-back concerts. The first concert consisted only of the OYSO students, who performed their yearly fall concert. 

Junior Jenna Mollenhauer appreciated all the hard work the group put into performing.

“I’m pretty excited,” she said. “I’m also pretty nervous because the pieces are difficult, but I feel like we’ve all worked really hard. It’s going to be really rewarding to get to perform the music that we’ve spent so much time on.”

Mollenhauer, a violinist, wasn’t the only one feeling the nerves. For sophomore violist Holly Roe, this performance was a nerve-wracking first taste of what OYSO has to offer.

 “I’m feeling good, but I’m also feeling kind of nervous because it’s my first ever Youth Symphony concert,” she said.

Senior Elise Palecek, who has been playing percussion in OYSO for two years, was excited to see each section become one.

“I am feeling pretty good,” they said. “I think we have progressed a lot, and it has really come together over our last few rehearsals.”

Other members of the orchestra, such as senior violinists Michael Tang and Brian Huo, were excited to start the year off strong.

“I’m feeling excited for the new season and ready to make wonderful music,” said Huo. “I feel like we have a lot of strong players this year.”

Tang, the concertmaster for this year’s round of performances, appreciates the time and work everyone put into perfecting each piece.

“I’m feeling confident,” he said. “We put in a lot of work, and now it’s concert time. We just gotta go out there, perform and do our best.”

Despite the anxiety that many felt for this performance, Mollenhauer had faith that the turnout would be wonderful.

 “As nervous as we are and as hard on ourselves as we are, the audience doesn’t get to look at our sheet music,” she said. “They’re going to love it either way because we’re really good, even if it’s not perfect.”

The music itself was what sealed the deal for junior violist Jackson Clarke. 

“Honestly, this is a pretty great concert,” he said. “I really like the songs, I really like the music, the music’s fun to play, the music’s a blast.”

Songs on the itinerary included ‘Danse Macabre,’ ‘Nabucco’ and the ‘Empire Strikes Back Melody,’ each with its own individual quirks. 

“‘Danse Macabre’ had a lot of variation, specifically with solos by Michael Tang and Brian Huo,” said senior and trumpet player Sunny Wolf. “There was some pretty big contrast between these solos, which were symbolizing death, and the parts the rest of the orchestra was playing.”

For Tang, the number provided a piece to show off just how much work they put in.

“I feel like ‘Danse Macabre’ could have a lot of potential for anyone,” he said. “That one went really well for us specifically just because we put the most time and effort into it.”

Mollenhauer and Roe also felt that this was the most laborious of the songs, but that it was the most exciting to play. 

“I think ‘Danse Macabre' is the most fun to play and it’s definitely the most interesting collectively,” Mollenhauer said.

‘Nabucco’ had a similar fast-paced tempo but was used to demonstrate the uniqueness of each individual instrument in the orchestra. 

“‘Nabucco,’ we only played specific excerpts, and each showed the differences between the instruments playing within,” Wolf said. “It was fast-paced, stabby and had lots of articulation to give it a more rushed feel, rather than a flowy and long experience.”

For Oshkosh North junior Harry Hirshberg, it went better than he initially thought it would.

“I’m glad we took ‘Nabucco’ at a faster speed,” he said. “It wouldn’t have worked as well if we took it slow, but we took it fast so it worked and it was fun. The actual performance was better than the dress rehearsal, and it overall went better than I expected it to.”

Finally, a familiar melody brought every musician and audience member together under a shared knowledge of the famous tunes.

“‘Empire Strikes Back’ had a bunch of different themes from ‘Star Wars,’ and was probably the favorite of the kids because they could actually recognize the songs,” said Wolf. “Each piece had a lot of contrast between dynamics, speed, and emotions in general. Some songs were punchy and evil, others were bright and flowy.”

West, North, and OYSO conductor Yukiko Grine felt that the concert was full of energy and excitement. 

“It went beautifully,” she said. “I really think the students pulled through in a wonderful way and the energy level was even greater than in rehearsals. Overall I think it went really really well and I’m proud of what the students did.” 

There was more to come, however, as the group would go on to perform again a few days later for the district's fourth graders. This has become an annual tradition consisting of a performance by the OYSO program and another performance with the fourth graders and their own homemade instruments. The fourth graders as a whole enjoyed the performances from their older peers. This was a unique live experience for student Levi.

“It was very cool because I’m very into music and I don’t get to go to live concerts that often,” he said.

Levi and many other students created their own drums to participate and perform with. 

“I made a drum,” he said. “I’m going to ask Santa for a drum set this year, and I did last year too.”

Other students from Oakwood shared this enjoyment. 

 “I liked it because I used to play the violin,” said Evalyn. “I like instruments and they’re very cool.” 

Experienced in the art of instruments, Evalyn created her own guitar.

“I made a guitar because I really like them,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite instruments and I loved the sound it makes.”

Overall, there was a collective agreement that ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ was a leading favorite for the young musicians.

 “I loved it,” said Landon. “I really liked the ‘Star Wars’ part at the end.”

Benny favored specific sections that made it all stand out. 

“It was cool,” he said. “I liked the people that used the percussion instrument to make songs that we knew that was really famous” 

As the OYSO members and fourth-grade students came together to share their knowledge and emotions, Grine was uplifted by the sight and being able to conduct such a unique experience.

“I love having the fourth-grade students,” she said. “I love the little kids coming to the concert and they’re so excited to show us their instruments. They’re so enthusiastic with their participation; it’s just a real joy to see everyone come together to play.”

by Ashley Schumann

Published November 28, 2022

Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue III