By: Elise Hyde
The band played very well during the musical, Wizard of Oz, and they truly made the musical come alive. Several orchestra and band Redwood students participated in the musical along with expierenced adults.
Michelle Yang 22’ and Kiersten Kearnen 22’ were among the several Redwood students who played in the pit for the musical, and I had the chance to talk to about their expierence through it. Especially, the transition from preforming concerts with a band (or marching band) or a orchestra to playing in the musical.
Yang plays the flute for Redwood band and she thinks that the one major difference between marching band and the musical is the enviornment you are in. Yang says, “the football games are very loud and upbeat and you can play out your heart’s desire, you cant do that with a musical.” Whereas in a musical people are there to support the actors and their singing, ad to blend with them to make a nice background song.
Yang continues to say, “ There is a lot more to practice and master within the musical too, because you don’t really get to be covered up by all the other loud brass instruments. Its just you and if you make a mistake, people will hear.” Yang learned control from playing in the musical because Yang was used to blasting every note from band.
Yang got the music in November and it took her around 4 months to prepare for the musical. She rehearsed every Monday morning before school, and Yang also brought thew books home to practice on her own. The pieces of music were very challenging, but Yang was determined to practice the music over and over again and practice with her private teacher.
Yang did have relationships with people in the ensemble and on stage. When Yang was in the pit playing, she would always feel proud watching her friends on stage and how she able to help them have an awesome show by playing her flute. Yang had to play under several cues because she had to play underneath an actor or actress singing, which was crucial in songs such as “Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead!” and in “If I Only Had a Brain”. Staying on beat and paying attention to the cues wasnt very challenging because the rythyms and notes she had to execute matched perfectly with the singers.
Yang really enjoyed the overall expierence of playing in the band. There are some aspects she enjoyed better than playing in the band, such as playing with the orchestra.
“However at the end of the day I am just a flute player, and I enjoy whatever music piece I play.”
Michelle Yang 22′
Kiersten Kearnen 22’ plays the violin for Redwood orchestra and she thinks that one major difference between orchestra and the musical is that you are playing along with several band instruments which creates a whole new sound. However, its not much of a transition for several adultswho played in the pit because they have played in an symphony several times. Kearnen says, “The music is different from regular orchestra music because when playing in a musical you are mostly there to support everyone on stage.”
Along with Yang, Kearnen also got her music in November and began practicing every Monday morning before school. Continued reshearsals and practice at home were required to master the music. Kearnen had several friends performing on stage and playing in the pit with her which really made her expierence very fun.
There were very specific moments that Kearnen and the rest of the pit had to come in, in order to match with what was going on stage. Kearens’ director, Mr.Carillo, cued the pit when to play so the musicians did not have to memorize when to come in at specific moments.
Kearnen says, “ The musical was definetly more exciting than just playing with the orchestra because I got to hang out with my friends and see the musical around 8 times.” Kearnen continues to say that the music was a lot more complicated than regular orchestra music and time consuming.
Kearnen says, “Despite the long hours of rehearsals and the time it took to practice the music, it was all worth it because the musical turned out amazing!”
Kiersten Kearnen 22′
I attended the Wizard of Oz and the pit did a very good job of making the play very enjoyable, suspensful, and entertaining to watch. Till the spring show!