This post was submitted to Manual RedEye by Lainey Holland (10, J&C).

On Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in the YPAS Mainstage Theatre, the YPAS orchestras will host their first concert of the school year; admission is free and open to the public.

“Students have been rehearsing the music since the start of school, and three ensembles will be featured, as well as student soloists within those ensembles,” Mr. Daniel Whisler (YPAS), conductor of the YPAS orchestras, said.

Chamber Strings, a conductorless orchestra, will perform a piece by Beethoven to start the concert.

Olivia Bohler (10, J&C,) a cellist in the Chamber Strings Orchestra, said she enjoys being a part of the YPAS orchestra program because it makes her feel more connected to a new medium of communication.

The Manual Concert Orchestra, an intermediate level orchestra consisting of YPAS majors and non-majors grades 9-12, will perform movement one of the Holberg Suite by Edvard Grieg, followed by movement four of Symphony No. 50 in C Major, composed by Franz Joseph Haydn.

Lucy Brown (10, HSU,) a violinist in the Manual Concert Orchestra, said she is looking forward to performing the piece by Haydn because it is more lively, compared to the Holberg Suite.

The YPAS Philharmonia, an auditioned and advanced level orchestra, will close the concert with a performance of Fünf Stücke (“Five Pieces”), Op. 44/4 by Paul Hindemith.

Connor Taylor (11, YPAS) will also perform a violin solo during the piece.

The YPAS Philharmonia will follow the Hindemith with movement one of Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

“I’m hoping that the darker Hindemith as an opener will set the tone to allow for a more cathartic listening experience with the Tchaikovsky,” Whisler said.

Students performing at the concert expressed that they would appreciate seeing their fellow duPont Manual High School classmates in the audience.

“Manual is all about people supporting people, and it would be nice if our peers came to support us at the concert, instead of just our parents and family members,” Brown said.

“Music is a way to express yourself and everybody should be able to have a little taste of that,” Bohler added.

“It’s a great, local, free option to see some of the best young string players in the state performing orchestral masterworks at the top of their game,” Whisler said.

More information about upcoming performances at YPAS can be found on their website.