This was an interesting experience, because normally we join a choir group each year in December and play a few Masses, which has only string instruments and occasionally some wind instruments. However in this concert we had the opportunity to play in a symphonic orchestra because we were playing the Litaniae Lauretanae KV 195 by Mozart.
Although I have played in symphonic orchestras, playing in my violin school orchestra is always more special, because we rehearse MUCH more: we rehearse only with the violins beforehand, and we all have the same violin teacher who can conduct and wants to make sure we are "prepared to present" to the choir. We attain higher levels of performance than the average impromptu amateur orchestra.
Including the other annual concert, we rehearsed for over 24 hours over the last 3 months. Spending 2-3 hours twice a week rehearsing over these months has been an experience more energy draining than anything in the IB I have experienced so far. We even had a Saturday rehearsal, where we began at 9 and were told to remain 'free' until 1pm because we weren't achieving the standards the teacher expected of us.
This is how last Sunday and Friday, we were prepared for anything. All of us were tired, and although it wasn't a good mindset, somewhere in our minds wanted to get this over with. The first concert on Friday was amusing: it took place in a church, which helps us, because the sound resonates and mistakes are covered. The conductor made a mistake in concert, but overall it was successful. However the concert on Sunday, which was in a auditorium, started with a disaster: when we arrived, we found out that the seats for the orchestra did not fit on stage. We ended up with a queer formation, where people were isolated from their section (violin I, violin II, flutes...). I ended up in the front, too close to the conductor, and next to the violin II leader, when I was meant to be diagonally behind him. The sound of the auditorium was really dry, and people couldn't hear each other. Still the concert went fairly well, with no major disasters.
Reflecting upon this experience, I feel slightly accomplished, but more exhausted. The choir was an amateur group, which to be honest, is not very inspiring, especially being used to play with an amateur choir each year. The orchestra is merely the accompaniment to the choir, and there is a limit to how inspiring we can make a concert. When playing violin isn't inspiring, it becomes a lot of just hard work. Nonetheless I think everyone gave their best, and I have no regrets.
