Orchestra Prepares for MPA’s by Ayaana Gupta
Mel High’s orchestra students have had a busy week as they prepare for MPA coming up. Sophomore Rudhi Jindal explained the importance of this event: “Basically we are doing a music performance assessment thats for every orchestra and it happens over 2 days.” For MPA, the Intermezzo Orchestra will perform 3 different pieces: Crystal City March, a slower song called Korean folk tune, and a fun upbeat sing called Base 6. Jindal, a sophomore, has been in orchestra for 1 year so far and played the viola for 2 years. She shared why she enjoys the instrument. “I like the C string of the viola and the comfort I feel from playing the instrument.”
Additionally, sophomore Raelee Chenfoo has been in orchestra since 7th grade. Chenfoo played the bass and enjoyed it because “I really loved the deep rich sound it produced.” For her section, they prepared the 4th movement of Charterhouse Suite by Vaughan Williams, which has an English countryside tone. They also prepared Romanze in C by Jean Sibelius, a romantic and expressive piece. The last piece is the 3rd movement of Choreography by Norman Dello Joio, an energetic and rhythm driven piece. In addition to the ensemble music, Chenfoo worked on the Dragonetti Concerto as a personal piece. Jindal and Chenfoo both felt the pressure as MPA approached. Jindal stated, “MPA times are always super stressful so I’m hoping spring concert preparations would be more enjoyable.” Chenfoo also added, “Practicing for MPA has been really fun but also a little stressful. Putting all the different parts together and the blending in class has been a little hard.”
Chenfoo’s hard work and determination to practice at home has also showed in her accomplishments. “I've gotten the opportunity to be able to go to the Florida All-State 2024, 2025, and 2026 and I made the first chair in 2024, and 2026 and I am very grateful for these opportunities.” Overall, even if it can get overwhelming at times, both students agree that the experience strengthens their skills. The long rehearsals, practice at home, and test runs for the MPA are what made the students become confident with their pieces, and perform to the best of their abilities.
Caption: Practice Makes Perfect: The Intermezzo Orchestra runs their Pre MPA on stage the week before the real performance. This was a trial for the students to see what to improve on and what was worked on enough. Rudhi Jindal, a viola player, states, “Pre MPA definitely showed us what we needed to work on and just gave us a preview of how it's gonna be like on MPA. It was also interesting to hear other orchestras.” Photo by Mr. Paul Jackson