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Music mix: St. Teresa Rock Ensemble, Decatur Youth Symphony Orchestra combo for fundraiser
WARRENSBURG, Feb 23, 2013 (Herald & Review - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
In the usual cacophony of an orchestra tuning up and musicians discussing the finer points of the piece they're preparing to rehearse, Cole Burdick ran through his guitar solo.
Turning to vocalist and keyboardist David Monk, he said, "I'm feeling like going to my knees even though this isn't an epic guitar solo."
The boys are part of the St. Teresa High School Rock Ensemble, and their group is doing a joint concert with the Decatur Youth Symphony Orchestra at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24, at Warrensburg-Latham High School as a fundraiser for the two groups.
"When I heard we were going to be playing with a symphony, I thought it was awesome," said Simone Sparks, who plays guitar.
Director Neal Smith started the Rock Ensemble at St. Teresa last year when he taught at the school.
He said some students had informally started a band, and because the school's music program isn't very large, he suggested making the rock band a regular class. This year it is and is taught by Jennifer Kater.
The program will include pieces played by the rock band and the symphony, but also pieces played by one without the other.
"We had an event canceled at Christmastime, so I was looking for something for the symphony to do as a fundraising concert, and I thought of the rock band and had the crazy idea that we could arrange some music for the orchestra and the rock band together," Smith said.
Plenty of rock songs lend themselves to that sort of thing, and some even have orchestras (or synthesizers that sound like orchestras) on the recordings. But some don't have arrangements for an orchestra, and for those, Smith wrote the parts himself.
The rock ensemble played at the Knights of Columbus Hall for the Band Slam on Feb. 16, and between that and rehearsals for the concert this Sunday, the pressure has been on, Kater said.
"Getting ready for two big gigs that close together was stressful," she said, but the students said they work together well, and any disagreements, such as choosing a song to learn that they're all happy with when their individual tastes vary from jazz to folk and all points in between, are worked out with minimal fuss.
The symphony members audition and must have at least a year's experience on their instrument to participate, with a group for high school students and another for younger kids.
The rock ensemble is a little more loose.
"We've never held an audition," Monk said. "Selig (Freeman, on bass) never even played bass until this year."
vwells@herald-review.com|(217) 421-7982
___ (c)2013 the Herald & Review (Decatur, Ill.) Visit the Herald & Review
(Decatur, Ill.) at www.herald-review.com Distributed by MCT Information Services
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