On March 29, the Eisenhower, Hillside, Middle School, and High School orchestras performed at the annual Festival of the Arts concert.

The concert, which was performed at the high school’s main gym, was quite a success with performances from several bands with student musicians from grades 6 to 12.

Conductor and High School Orchestra teacher Mrs. Hsiao-Yu Lin Griggs conducted the three ensembles she teaches and organizes here at BRHS: the Ninth Orchestra, the mixed upperclassmen Concert Orchestra, and the selective Symphony Orchestra. There are more than 150 students overall participating in these ensembles. 

Pieces performed by the high school included “Emerald Falcon” by the freshmen, “Lion City” by Concert Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4 Movement IV” by Symphony. These ensembles had a strong performance and have much to be proud of, including a successful culmination of seven months of hard work. 

Also in the mix was an impromptu performance by the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by their class president, Alexander Lu. They played “Holberg Suite” by Edvard Greig. 

Mrs. Griggs said:

“They have been fortunate enough to have a live audience since the Winter Concert 2021” with the permission of large crowds since the pandemic. She also says the next performances for the ensemble are a series of clinics in Washington DC and the Spring Concert on May 16.

Thank you to the staff and custodians of the district for setting the gym up and making it possible to accommodate so many people, to the audience for coming out to support the hard work of children of all ages,  to student performers and their teachers for providing such an enticing evening of music, and to Mr. Matthew McCarthy, our recent Supervisor of Fine and Performing Arts for joining us on our long-running tradition of Fine Arts Festival. “