Photograph by Mattias De Los Rios
Berkeley High School’s band and orchestra program puts on sensational performances and trains amazing young musicians year after year.
Mary Dougherty, the director for Concert Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, was one of the directors of the Freight and Salvage concert along with Karen Wells, the band director for Concert Band and Chamber Winds. Although Dougherty and Wells teach four separate classes, each group is intertwined and has chances to perform together, becoming a full orchestra.
For the Freight and Salvage show, musicians from all four classes banded together to form small chamber groups ranging from solo performances to a group of fourteen people. The program involves dedicating hours of time to being in class as well as practicing on their own. Dougherty half joked, “It really is a lifestyle … some of the zero period students wake up at five in the morning … [all] these students are amazingly dedicated.”
From Concert Band playing at football games in the stands to the annual winter concert where all four classes perform various pieces, the evergreen Band and Orchestra program always puts on captivating and beautiful performances. And the department’s January 30 performance at the Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse was no exception.
The musicians put on an exceptional performance in the Berkeley treasure that is the Freight and Salvage venue. The performance was an ending to a unit on small group work and was a highly anticipated show.
Students had the privilege of having professional musicians come and help prepare them for the performance during class time. Each chamber group went on stage and played a piece they had prepared for the performance.
Dougherty couldn’t think of a better place to have performed for the end of this unit. “Freight and Salvage is such a fun place to play,” she said. “It’s just great to play at a place that is so special and was designed with acoustics in mind.”
The Freight and Salvage music house was founded in the 1968 and has since thrived. It has become world renowned for upholding the values that Berkeley is notorious for.
Being in a smaller ensemble means there’s more laying on the shoulders of the individual performers. Bodhi Alexander Luce, one of the Band and Orchestra members and Freight and Salvage performers says the Freight and Salvage performance is special because “the people who are in it put in lot of effort.”
Alexander Luce’s effort and passion were displayed in Chorando Se Foi, a samba, which was one of the last performances. Alexander Luce played the trumpet during the piece, which had a fun and relaxing feel to it. As a whole, the ensemble and orchestra shows their love for the music in the skillful way they were able to carry their pieces and perform with passion.
It was evident how much all of the performers were able to connect with the music, making for a truly magical performance at the Freight and Salvage.