On March 10, the Edina High School Symphony Orchestra will be performing their first annual Symphony ball concert. The Symphony Orchestra is comprised of the best junior and senior string players at EHS. This group of talented musicians has been working hard since December in anticipation of this prestigious concert. The Symphony Orchestra has been preparing a wide variety of musical selections that everyone in the audience is sure to enjoy. They will be playing pieces from classical string music to rock and roll and pop songs. “This concert will morph as you listen,” said Symphony Orchestra conductor Mr. Gaudette. “We’ll be starting with the famous Emperor’s Waltz by Strauss, we’ll also play the Overture to West Side Story…and then we’ll end the night with pumping beat backing songs like Sweet Dreams, Final Countdown, Uprising, even Nirvana!” said Gaudette. The concert will feature many non-traditional songs for an orchestra to play. “Did I say this is a ball? Well–it’s also going to be a rock concert! I think there is a flavor for everyone in this concert,” said Gaudette.

“A few things make this concert different [than other concerts], said EHS senior and Symphony Orchestra member Eva Anderson. “Audience members have the opportunity to dance on the dance floor instead of sitting in the audience. Because the concert is in the gym, there will be places for the audience to sit, walk around or dance,” said Anderson.

In addition to seeing this skilled group of string musicians, the audience will also get to hear an ensemble from the EHS band. The jazz band will be performing songs between some of the string pieces. “We are looking forward to taking a break and watching the Jazz 1 Band strike up the band stand for a special swing tune set,” said Gaudette.

You can see the Symphony ball orchestra concert at 7 pm on March 10, in the EHS gym. “The audience can look forward to seeing lots of elegant decorations and awesome lighting. The concert set up is very unique to a normal orchestra concert, so that is exciting!” said Anderson. Tickets are $5 in advance and will be $10 at the door. The concert will last approximately an hour and a half. “This concert means a lot to EHS orchestra members and especially us seniors. Students were heavily involved in picking music and planning the concert…We are all very excited to pilot a concert at Edina that has never existed before,” said Anderson. “We hope that it is a memorable concert for both the performers and audience alike,” said Gaudette.