Fashioning black, white, and rain-splattered concert attire, Harriton’s finest instrumentalists gathered in the school auditorium on Wednesday, April 30, at 7:30 PM for the 2014 Spring Instrumental Concert.

The Concert Band, comprised of students who play woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, was first to take the stage. The ensemble’s rendition of West Side Story’s “Mambo”was a highlight for family and friends watching in the audience; the piece included vocal interjections of “Mambo!” in addition to instrumental parts. Concert Band members performed another crowd favorite, “Seventy Six Trombones” from The Music Man to conclude their performance.

Next to perform was Harriton’s Jazz Band, an extracurricular musical ensemble that rehearses on weeknights. Jazz Band first performed several pieces, including Carmichael’s “Georgia On My Mind” and Jeff Steinburg’s “Gospel John”, which featured junior Benji Hoog on the alto saxophone and senior Ethan Wolfe on the trumpet. As always, the ensemble’s performance was well received by the audience.

The final ensemble to perform was the Orchestra, composed of string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instrumentalists. The orchestral repertoire was varied, ranging from the ominous “In the Hall of the Mountain King” to the spritely “Slavonic Dance.” A highlight of the orchestral performance was Harriton’s rendition of “Morning, Noon, and Night in Vienna.” The piece, laden with melodious and diverse passages, featured cellist Bihn Park, a junior.

After the orchestra’s performance, Mr. Joseph addressed the audience. After thanking the audience for supporting Harriton instrumentalists, he acknowledged the students who qualified for PMEA district, regional, and all-state orchestras. He also took a moment to recognize members of the class of 2014 who will be graduating in June, and thanked them for their continued interest and participation in the musical ensembles at Harriton.

As per tradition, students from all the ensembles joined together for the combined number, which is always a crowd-favorite. In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, Harriton instrumentalists played a medley entitled, “Remembering the Beatles.” The medley was composed of iconic runs and passages from Eleanor Rigby, Yesterday, A Hard Day’s Night, The Fool on The Hill, Something, and Please Please Me. “It brought me back to 1964!” exclaimed an enthused audience member, when asked to comment on the medley.

Harriton’s 2014 instrumental concert was unforgettable and conveniently took listener’s minds off the rain, impending basement floods, and muddy front lawns. Thank you to all who helped to make the concert a success!

If you enjoyed the concert, come see Harriton’s Concert Band and Symphony Orchestra perform at the 2014 Harriton Commencement at St. Joseph’s University on Tuesday, June 10, 2014.