Orchestra is heading into a new school year. The orchestra classes are coming off a tough covid year and a year where there was some in school with a touch of digital learning. This will be the first year for the class of 2024 that is fully integrated into being in person. 

The orchestra students are led by conductor Monica Smiley who has been looking after Covid because it was tough to go through a digital version of the class. This is what Miss Monica Smiley had to say about the years after Covid. Smiley stated, “We weren’t together, it was very individual, there was just a screen and a student.”

Throughout the conversation with Smiley. In watching the class it seems like the students have the same level of respect for their conductor, students like Parker Driscoll and Hannah Osmann were very comfortable and very responsive to the feedback Miss Smiley provided.

 In an interview in Parker Driscoll on Thursday he seemed very comfortable and confident with the way that his class was performed. Parker went further to explain how his class is performing with each other. Parker said, “The tone quality will be good,we have togetherness and confidence coming from the classroom.”

In the overall scheme of the whole class there’s a lot of preparation that went into this concert. Talking with a few students from the class they shared about how they were nights at home where they would study the music but also make sure when they’re in class the next day they perform to their best abilities.

The mistakes are very minimal and the class flowed so well with each other even through the mistakes. On top of how the class is flowing with each other, the practice in the classroom is so tightly executed by Miss Monica Smiley to make sure the students have the best posture. Miss Monica Smiley also conducts with a calm and strong way which is direct to the students but comfortable as well to the students. In the grand scheme of the classroom and orchestra the first fall concert is going to be a relief for many, as the year goes on expect the orchestra classes to get better and better.