Orchestra concert to showcase talent from Bearden High, West Valley Middle

The Bearden High and West Valley Middle School orchestras will combine to perform in a holiday concert Thursday night at 7.

The concert provides the middle school students a chance to perform in a nice auditorium instead of the West Valley gym and is also a way for both schools to showcase how their string skills have advanced over time.

“We decided it might be fun to put on a big show with all of the groups so that our orchestra community could see the 6th-12th grade progression of levels,” Bearden orchestra director Mrs. Cynthia Wright said.

The concert will also be an opportunity for the students to learn from each other and grow in their musical knowledge in a fun environment.

“Hopefully [it will] encourage a lot of the middle school students to continue in orchestra and get excited about what the future holds for them as high school students,” Mrs. Wright said.

Mrs. Wright teaches not only at Bearden, but also at West Valley, so she is familiar with both sets of students, providing her with a chance to see how all the students have grown since she began teaching them.

“I work at both schools, so I get to conduct the very beginners, the earliest string players, and then I get to end the night by conducting my most advanced group, and for me that is just exhilarating to know how much the students grow in six or seven years,” Mrs. Wright said.

Bearden hopes to be able to combine with West Valley for concerts in the near future because it allows the middle schoolers to have a better space and learn from working with high schoolers.

“I think it could be a really exciting thing to do at least once a school year or maybe every other school year as an event that students look forward to,” Mrs. Wright said.

With families and friends attending to see both middle and high school students, orchestra is expecting a packed house that could possibly fill Bearden’s auditorium, especially considering admission is free.