The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

The official student newspaper of Walter Johnson High School

The Pitch

Symphonic Orchestra Prepares to Compete in National Orchestra Cup

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for aspiring classical musicians: the WJ Symphonic Orchestra has been invited to the National Orchestra Cup on March 10, in which only ten schools in the country can compete. The competition, which will be held at Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City, is one of the most prestigious and selective events in high school music. This year, WJ will be participating for the first time.

“We’ll represent the school well,” said Christopher Kosmaceski, the music department resource teacher and the conductor of the WJ Symphonic Orchestra. “We intend to play with pride, class and sophistication. There [are] other competitions that are held [for high school orchestras], but this one is in a whole different tier.”

Helping with WJ’s preparation for the competition is the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). The BSO’s community outreach director contacted Kosmaceski to offer their support as the Symphonic Orchestra rehearsed for the competition.

“I told them that we needed someone to instruct the violins and cellos,” Kosmaceski said. “I’m not a string player myself, and I thought that if we had the help of the BSO, this was the best way that they could help.”

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The WJ Symphonic Orchestra has participated in and won many previous invitational events. However, the National Orchestra Cup is by far the most prestigious that WJ has competed in. At least two schools competing this year have won the National Orchestra Cup in previous years, including last year’s winner, Garfield High School in Seattle, Wash. Students in the orchestra, however, are not deterred, and are enthusiastic about the opportunity to compete on the national stage.

“It’s actually really amazing,” said senior Isabel Carton, who plays the French horn in the Symphonic Orchestra. Carton underscored the differences between WJ and other schools in the competition, many of which are entirely dedicated to the performing arts.

“They run their programs much differently than we do,” Carton said. “I think we still have a really good chance, though. Mr. [Kosmaceski] is a great director. There’s no reason why we don’t have as good a chance as they do.”

Senior Catrina Johnson, who plays the clarinet in the orchestra, initially didn’t know about the National Orchestra Cup, but is anticipating the chance to showcase the orchestra’s skills.

“I was so surprised when I heard that we would be competing,” Johnson said. “I had never heard of the National Orchestra Cup, but to know that we would be going against nine of the top orchestras in the country is amazing.”

For their performance at the competition, the WJ Symphonic Orchestra is rehearsing “Comedian’s Gallop,” by Dmitri Kabalevsky, the first movement of Alexander Borodin’s Symphony No. 2 and Slavonic Dance No. 1, by Antonín Dvorák.

“This isn’t child’s play,” Carton said. “This is hard stuff. And it’s not common stuff that’s been heard a thousand times. These songs are a good fit for our orchestra, and that’s what’s most important.”

The orchestra will spend the day of the competition in New York City. Despite having a tight schedule, they will be hosted at a dinner banquet on a cruise that circles the Statue of Liberty. For Kosmaceski, the competition will be a fitting end to months of hard work.

“We’ve played at other invitationals, but this is the first competition that the orchestra has been in,” he said. “They’re working really hard [and] practicing a lot for this competition.”

Members of the WJ Symphonic Orchestra share Kosmaceski’s enthusiasm.

“I think this will be a very different experience for us,” Johnson said. “I’m not worried about stiff competition; I’m excited for the new opportunities. We’ll have a lot to learn from the orchestras there, because we’ve never been in a competition like this before.”

In particular, seniors in the orchestra are celebrating the opportunity to perform in a nationally renowned competition. Carton, however, made a point to acknowledge orchestras of years past for their contributions.

“We’ve been working so hard for so many years,” Carton said. “This opportunity isn’t something that just our current orchestra got. This is [for] all of the orchestras – including the seniors from years past. It’s great to represent our school, our county and our state on the national stage. It’s great to be recognized for all of our hard work.”

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