A Sunday of Strings

As the end of the school year draws near, performances are popping up all over: senior recitals for scholarship students soon to graduate, certification concerts for selected students taking the next step in Settlement's curriculum, and weekday performance hours for students of all ages to show off the product of their lessons and practice sessions.

A low-strings sectional rehearsal

Year-end ensemble performances demonstrate something extra: a year of building chemistry and working toward achieving unity. Those group achievements will be on display this Sunday at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch. At 3 pm, the Spring Orchestra Festival features the Junior Orchestras from the Germantown and Mary Louise Curtis Branches and the Intermediate Orchestra, and at 7 pm, the Trowbridge Chamber Orchestra performs.


Playing in a large group is a big step for young musicians, says Monique Johnson, director of the MLC Junior Orchestra. "It's the very first time they've heard other instruments," she says, and her goal is to get her players to work together, to listen to themselves and one another, to form an ensemble out of 19 individuals. That means no "one-bar solos," as Johnson calls them: moments where an incorrect rhythm causes a student to play during a rest.

There are true solos on the concert, too: one from each section featured during Rossini's Overture to William Tell, and two featured violinists during Handel's "Entrance of the Queen of Sheba" from the oratorio "Solomon." Everyone in the orchestra was able to attempt the solos and decide if they want to try out. "I've had everybody play, and I've had the whole section play it together," Johnson says. "I always let them know what I'm listening for."

Jeri Lynne Johnson leading the Trowbridge Chamber Orchestra during rehearsal

Later on Sunday, the Trowbridge Chamber Orchestra, the most advanced group in Settlement's orchestra program, performs. This group recently had the honor of performing at Settlement's 104th Anniversary Gala, and they'll revisit the piece they performed that night: Ernest Bloch's Concerto Grosso with Piano Obbligato.

It's a piece that sounds more difficult than it really is, according to Trowbridge conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson. In terms of rhythm, counterpoint, and balance between sections and between piano and ensemble, it's still an advanced piece of music, one originally written for a collegiate orchestra and one that helps reinforce good ensemble habits. "It has some very intricate ensemble playing," Johnson says. "It requires them to really listen to each other."


Come see how well these students work together and how they respond to the conductors and soloists; it's the kind of teamwork that will serve them well in the future, whether playing or working.

The Spring Orchestra Festival at 3 pm and the Trowbridge Chamber Orchestra at 7 pm.

Both at PNC Bank*Presser Recital Hall at the Mary Louise Curtis Branch,

416 Queen Street, Philadelphia. 

Receptions to follow both performances.