Senior Soloists Soar at First and Last Concert of the Year

By: Sydney Brammer

Redwood’s orchestras had their first and unfortunately, last concert of the 2020-2021 school year due to the restrictions Covid has caused. On May 22nd at 3:00 PM, the Intermediate Orchestra began the concert with their two pieces. Next, was the Advanced Orchestra also following with two pieces, and lastly, Chamber with a total of four pieces, three of those being a special spotlight on three Seniors as they had their traditional solos. All orchestras were conducted by Mr. Rodney Yokota.

The first Senior solo was given to Henry Lam, ’21. Lam has been a member of the Chamber Orchestra since his Sophomore year, and is currently second chair in first violins in his track. He has been playing the violin since fifth grade, and began taking private lessons his eighth grade year.

Lam chose to perform Czardas composed by Vitoria Monti for his solo. According to Lam, when choosing a piece, he had “accidentally clicked a clip from YouTube of this Canadian/Chinese artist, Henry Lau” performing the piece. Lam says, “He [Lau] played it so well that I decided to play it for fun.”

When preparing for his solo, Lam didn’t practice as much as he would’ve for the solo at the beginning of the school year because he didn’t think Redwood would be returning to in-person learning. However, when news got out that students would be returning, Lam “was really scared to perform for people, but [he] still chose to not feel regrets later…,” he says.

“The week of the concert was stressful, I practiced for more than eight hours all together, it was intense, yet rewarding.”

Henry Lam, ’21, Senior Soloist

During Lam’s performance, the wind was very strong and ended up knocking his stand down along with his music not once, but twice. The first time, he had played for about 10 seconds with it being on the ground until a staff member ran to pick it back up. The second time, Lam had turned to look at Mr. Yokota, and they both smiled as Lam continued to play flawlessly not needing his music for reference for the rest of the piece.

According to Lam, during this unexpected situation, he thought to himself, “I have it memorized, so I don’t actually need it [the music], and if it falls, I’ll just keep going” which is exactly what he did. It was extremely impressive to the crowd as they watched Lam in complete awe as he stayed so professional and calm despite the incident.

When he finished his performance, the audience roared as he accomplished his piece so beautifully. Conductor, Mr. Yokota even announced how proud he was of him that he kept playing despite his music falling twice once he was finished.

Regarding Lam’s performance and professionalism despite the incident, Yokota says, “I thought he did a great job… he had it memorized, and you can tell even when the stand fell over, he was still fine. He didn’t get distracted, so I was really proud of how he did…”

Lam plans to attend UC Berkeley in the Fall whether they offer him a scholarship or a spot in their symphony or orchestra or not. He is still undecided about continuing his music career in college as he doesn’t know if they offer symphony classes. He does not plan to major or minor in music.

Special note of thanks from Lam to his supporters:

“I would like to thank my family and friends for always coping with my nervousness and rants about how hard the music is. I thank my mom and dad for buying me a new instrument, which costs a lot. And for always taking and picking me up from rehearsals, practices, performances, and violin lessons. Thank you to all my friends for supporting me even when sometimes I don’t even believe in myself. I thank my private lesson teacher, Rudolfina Sjostrand for helping me in every step of the way. Lastly, I would like to thank Mr. Rodney Yokota for allowing me to play my Senior solo, and for seeing my grow from a seventh grader to a high school Senior.”

Sincerely, Henry Lam, ’21, Senior Soloist

The next Senior soloist to perform was Aya Aziz, ’21. Aziz has been a member of the Chamber Orchestra since her Freshman year. She began playing the violin at 10 years old, while also beginning private lessons at that age. Aziz was first chair in the second violins her Freshman year, and was titled as “concertmaster” her Junior and Senior year, according to conductor, Mr. Yokota.

Aziz picked the piece, Jalouise Tango composed by Jacob Gade for her solo. According to Aziz, she has been wanting to play this piece for her Senior solo since her Junior year. She says, “Not only is it a really sassy, fun piece to learn, but the orchestra accompaniment part is easy to learn…”

According to Aziz, she has been practicing this piece since January of this year and invested a total of three-four hours a week in the month before the performance.

At the end of the Chamber performance, a student was awarded a very special and honorable award called the “National Orchestra Award”, which is given to one or two students from every school as the “top orchestra player”, according to Yokota. The recipient of this award was Aya Aziz.

Mr. Yokota says regarding Aziz winning the award, “She’s definitely one of our top students, and deserving.”

It was obvious to the audience that Aziz was in complete shock that she received such a significant award. She says, “I was really pleasantly surprised… I was really honored that Mr. Yokota chose me out of all the Seniors.”

“Aya has been a leader since she’s gotten here.”

Redwood Orchestra Conductor, Mr. Rodney Yokota

Aziz plans on attending Stanford University next semester and isn’t “sure yet” on continuing her musical career. She says, “Music will always be important to me, and even though I’m not majoring in music, a minor is a possibility!”

A special note of thanks from Aziz:

“I want to thank my private lesson teacher, Rudolfina for always believing in me, and spreading her contagious love for music to everyone she meets! I also want to thank my parents for always supporting me, and driving me to rehearsals, concerts, [and] auditions. Last but not least, I’ll always be grateful to Mr. Yokota for making my school orchestra experience so memorable.”

Aya Aziz, ’21, National Orchestra Award Winner and Senior Soloist

And the last Senior soloist to perform was Sergio Lozano, ’21. Lozano has been a part of the Chamber Orchestra since his Freshman year. He is currently titled as the “concertmaster”, meaning he is considered to be the best violinist in the orchestra. He has been playing the violin for eight years, six of those also being taking private lessons.

For his solo, he chose to perform the first movement of Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Lozano has been admiring this piece for a couple of years as he has progressed his way through playing the violin. When choosing a piece for his solo, Lozano took his love for the Romantic Era (1800s-1910) into consideration, which ultimately led to his decision of choosing this particular piece.

According to Lozano, he has spent around a year working on the piece, practicing about three hours a day on it. In addition to practicing it, he has also listened to various recordings of the piece performed by numerous of different violinists, including Yehudi Menuhin.

Lozano plans to attend Brigham Young University (BYU) after taking a two-year gap where he will be serving in a mission for his Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He plans to bring his talent and love for the violin during his college years, serving, and for the rest of his life.

A special mention to Lozano’s loved ones:

“My mom and dad have been an indispensable part of my musical development. They have been my inspiration and motivation when I play. I actually have a picture of my family in my violin case!”

Sergio Lozano, ’21, Chamber Orchestra Concertmaster

To prepare the Seniors for their solos, Yokota met with each of them individually on Wednesdays before students returned to in-person to help them and adjust “tempo changes”. Yokota adds, “It was tricky doing the solos, and practicing it with the AM and PM” because the soloists were in different tracks meaning the orchestra was split up, so they couldn’t practice together.

To solve this difficulty, Yokota had the whole Chamber Orchestra attend two rehearsals before the concert so they could practice together and adjust accordingly to the soloists’ speeds.

“I was really proud of the kids because doing that with only two rehearsals is kind of tricky.”

Redwood Orchestra Conductor, Mr. Rodney Yokota

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