Orchestra to host first concert of the year under direction of new conductor
Last year’s Bearden orchestra poses with electric violinist Haydn Vitera, who did a workshop and played a concert with orchestra last year. This year’s orchestra has its first concert tonight.
October 4, 2019
Orchestra is hosting its first concert of the year. Not only is it their first concert of the year, but it is also the first for new orchestra teacher Ms. Rain Binger.
Ms. Binger graduated from Bearden in 2015 and played in the orchestra while she was here. She went on to study Music Education at Tennessee Tech and graduated in 2019.
“I went to Bearden, and I came back and I am so happy to be back,” Ms. Binger said.
The concert is Friday at 7 p.m. in the auditorium. Admission is free.
As the orchestra teacher, Ms. Binger wants to continue the excellence of the BHS orchestra program, but also wants to bring the orchestra into the community more than it has been in the past.
“In the future, I want to get out into the community, maybe have a string quartet that goes around and shows off what Bearden has to offer,” Ms. Binger said.
For this upcoming concert, Ms. Binger did admit that she is nervous, but she is confident that the students will have a great performance. The students also feel well prepared for this concert and have expressed they believe it will be a success.
“I think it is going to go really well,” junior Will Duff said. “We have been practicing for a long time, and we have tried out some songs that didn’t work, but I think the songs that we have now are going to sound really good.”
Added senior Claire Blankenship: “Everyone expects to have a good time. Ms. Binger took on very difficult pieces, but orchestra always perseveres. Ms. Binger has helped improve on dynamics, and the audience can especially expect a beautiful first concert from the freshmen.”
Ms. Binger chose only to include classical music pieces in this first concert because of her love of the genre and for the chance to inspire others to love the genre as well.
“When I went to high school, we always did Disney or pop songs, and I am a big fan of classical music so I wanted to bring my love of classical music to the orchestra,” Ms. Binger said. “I want people to come, and I hope that if they do come they are kind of surprised on how much they like hearing classical music.
“I don’t know how often the students here really get to listen to that, so I hope this is an opportunity for them to learn about something new that they might be interested in.”
Some of the orchestra students approved of her decision to have all classical music pieces and found the decision unique and exciting.
“It’s fun and historical, and it’s a new experience because orchestra teachers usually choose a mixture of classical music with contemporary-arranged pieces,” Blankenship said. “With historically classical pieces, friends and family are transported through eras of music that they most likely have never heard before.”
Added Duff: “I like classical music, so that is kind of one of the main reasons I am in orchestra. I really like that decision, and hopefully we will get to broaden it up in the next concert, but I think for the first concert, it is the right move.”