La Porte High School will present a fall concert by the LPHS Orchestra Program on Monday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Sonja Angelo Theater. Admission is free.
The Freshman Orchestra is under the direction of assistant director Clint Brown. All other orchestras are conducted by head director Dr. Geoff Carlton. All orchestras will be assisted on percussion and trap set by James Metcalf.
The Freshman Orchestra will perform an Allegro from E. F. Dall' Abaco's "Concerto all'unisono," a Baroque selection that derives its name from the fact that both the first and second violins perform the same part in unison with each other. The orchestra will also perform "Jacob's Them" from the movie "Twilight Saga: Eclipse" written by Howard Shore. The group will also play rock standards "Land of A Thousand Dances" by Chris Kenner and "Final Countdown" by Joey Tempest. All arrangements for string orchestra were done by Paul Lavender and Robert Longfield.
The Sinfonia Orchestra will perform "Mambo Incognito" by Doug Spata and "Themes from the Moldau" by romantic composer Bedrich Smetana as arranged by Robert Frost. The group will also present "Hallelujah" from the movie "Shrek" by Leonard Cohen and a contemporary piece for string orchestra written by composer John Caponegro, "Fanfare and Celebration."
The Junior Varsity Orchestra will begin with a Merle J. Isaac arrangement of the first movement of J. S. Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto, No. 3.," followed by Gustav Holst's "Songs Without Words" based on the English folk song "I'll Love My Love." The group will also perform Alexander von Kreisler's "Intermezzo for Young String Players" and close its portion of the program with the "Theme from Shaft" originally composed by the late Memphis Funk, Rhythm and Blues composer and singer Isaac Hayes.
The Varsity Orchestra will perform the "Scherzo" from Gustav Holst's arrangement of his own "Moorside Suite for String Orchestra", followed by Elena Roussanova Lucas's "Butterfly and Flowers,"which the composer describes as "a musical setting reflecting the bright colors of the Chinese countryside." Varsity students will close the concert with two selections-"Wizard's Waltz" by Thom Sharp and a medley of classical music often associated with the season titled "Creepy Classics." Melodies included will be from Camille Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre," and Charles Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette,"which is more commonly recognized as the theme from the old television horror series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. "Creepy Classics" will close with music from Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King."
