By Ainsley Green, Staff Writer
On Dec. 1, the Sunderman Conservatory’s Symphony Orchestra took the stage at the Majestic Theater in downtown Gettysburg for their final performance of the semester. It was a festive and exciting program, complete with a holiday-decorated stage. The concert began at 8 p.m. and featured three large pieces of differing styles, each with their own characteristics.
The Symphony Orchestra is the premiere full orchestra ensemble on campus, with dozens of talented musicians ranging from music performance majors to students who auditioned without being a major or minor. The orchestra also had special guests and faculty join them under the direction of the Sunderman Conservatory of Music’s director of orchestral activities Dr. César Leal.
Before each piece, an orchestra member gave brief statements about what the audience should expect when they heard the music. They highlighted melodies to listen for by having members of the orchestra demonstrate on different instruments.
“Tonight we will be opening with Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s ‘Danse Negre’. . . inspired by the writings of African American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar,” music major violinist Janaa Eborn ’24 told the audience.
Eborn explained that the audience should “listen out for these charming elements in this short but sweet piece,” as the members of the orchestra demonstrated short melody excerpts. This piece was an attention-catching opener for the concert, featuring many unique and beautiful melodies in the musical adaptations of Dunbar’s poetry.
(Courtesy of the Sunderman Conservatory of Music)
The second piece of the night was the Trumpet Concerto in A-Flat Major by Alexander Arutiunian, which featured the winner of Gettysburg College’s 15th annual Concerto Competition Jacob Hunkins ’24. Earlier in the semester, Hunkins performed this piece in the final round of the Concerto Competition, and at this concert, he received the chance to perform it with a full orchestra accompaniment.
Michael Tropp ’25 introduced the piece with a description of what to listen for and also acknowledged Hunkins, a friend and fellow musician at the Conservatory: “I’ve experienced his musicianship firsthand, and I’m so glad you all get the opportunity to do that tonight.”
Hunkins and the entire Symphony Orchestra brought the concerto to life with many different musical themes and melodies. Before the concert, Hunkins was asked what his favorite part about playing with the full orchestra was and how it has been a defining moment in his musical career thus far.
“My favorite part about playing the piece with the orchestra is how much extra color and musical texture is added with the whole orchestra. The piece just carries with it so much more power when I hear the orchestra live and encourages me to be even more musical with my performance,” said Hunkins. “Preparing this piece has provided me with an excellent learning experience. I had to make sure I knew exactly what to do with the music so that it would work with what the orchestra was doing, and I have had to learn to compromise what I want musically, what the director wants, and what the orchestra wants so that we can make a product that reflects all of our musicianships.”
After Director of the Sunderman Conservatory James Day acknowledged Hunkins on his performance of the Trumpet Concerto, Leal then gave a short speech to the audience to describe the process of preparing the program and to provide a farewell to senior music education majors of the orchestra who were performing their last concert.
“We have our students sharing what they think is important to repeat so audience members get the possibility of connecting with it in the same way the students do,” said Leal in reference to the concert’s musical repertoire before the introduction of the final piece.
The last piece of the night, “Selections from The Nutcracker Ballet Suite” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was introduced by music performance major JJ Jordan ’24: “The Nutcracker for many is incredibly linked to this time of year. As we approach the holiday season, we thought that this familiar piece of music would be a great way to end our concert.”
The Nutcracker has been a staple part of classical repertoire for many over the years. It has a lot of sentimental value that was brought out by the musicianship of the Symphony Orchestra. Many recognizable tunes, including “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and the “Waltz of the Flowers,” were played in order of the ballet by the Orchestra, each piece featuring different instruments. “The Nutcracker” was certainly a great choice to close the concert, and the audience surely felt nostalgic through the music.
The “Celebrate the Season” concert had a large crowd of college students, family members and community members who had come to support the musicians and get into the holiday spirit.
Audience member Cyndy Basil ’25 said, “I really loved the way they explained the musical motifs before and had someone demonstrate. It’s really good for the people who don’t know what they are listening for.”
After the final piece, the Symphony Orchestra received a standing ovation from the audience. Although this was their last performance of the fall semester, the spring semester will bring several more performances to look forward to after winter break.
