Redwood CODA Guessed It!

Redwood High School’s 9 students who were selected from Tulare County to be a part of the California Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) reflect on their time at the concert.

These students were asked if they would do it all again if they were given the opportunity too. These students had mixed answers when answering this question.

Yong Lee ‘26 says “Yeah, definitely. It was a good experience to play with different people from all over the state. I would definitely want to do it again.”

Jessica Shupe ‘23 says “I would not. Personally, It was nice to challenge myself but it was a little too much for the moment.” 

They only had a couple of days to prepare for the concert and the day before the concert they had to rehearse for 9 hours. 

Zachary Tomooka ‘26, says, “Honestly, I don’t know actually. The work itself being there and practicing for a whole day is very rigorous, but it is a good learning experience, so I would say yes.”

All these students had said that they had learned something new while away for the CODA concert. Whether it was learning how to perform in a group away from the one in school or learning how to practice and perform under a lot of pressure.

Hayl-lee Gallegos ‘23 said “before the concert I was really nervous and felt like I was not prepared enough.” But after the concert many people including herself were relieved. 

Tyler Tomooka ‘23 said “once we got there things were not lining up the way it should’ve been, but then the day before the concert it started to actually come together”

There were many mistakes as they only had a couple days to prepare for the concert. 

Samuel Noricumbo ‘25 “I think the players themselves didn’t need to improve because everyone is talented”

Sophie Caballes ‘26 lastly said “besides making music I got closer with other students”

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