On Friday evening, the Chapel filled with music and the joy of reunion. As families filled the pews for Family Weekend, Andover’s orchestral and band ensembles took the stage for their first concert of the year, a culmination of weeks of preparation and collaboration. What followed was less a recital than a reminder of how collective effort can turn practice into something luminous and shared.
Annabelle Wu ’26, conducting the Chamber Orchestra and performing violin in Symphony orchestra, led the group through Four Novelletten for String Orchestra by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The piece, full of sharp contrasts and rhythmic intricacy, demanded focus from every section. Wu remarked that her goal was to bring out those emotional shifts, playful at first, then unexpectedly lyrical, and to keep the orchestra moving as one.
“I think this was a wonderful first performance. Even though we’ve only rehearsed together for less than two months, the piece has really come together in the past few weeks … The first movement of the Coleridge-Taylor has many different dynamics. The beginning and ending are more lighthearted and playful, but the middle is a lot more legato and emotional. My goal was to bring out all the contrasting dynamics, and I tried to encourage everyone to do that by mirroring the emotion of each section of the piece while I conducted,” said Wu.
Across the program, each ensemble showcased different facets of Andover’s musicianship, from the larger Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble to the smaller chamber groups. The program did not follow a strict theme, and some performers such as Ryan Baek ’28 enjoyed the contrast of percussive openings balanced by softer, reflective interludes.
“They were pretty dramatic and energetic. The beginning was very loud, then it got quiet, and it kept going back and forth like that. There were a lot of changes, which helped make the piece feel more dramatic … The piece itself was dramatic, but the performance felt exciting and fun to play. It was a little nerve-racking since it was our first concert of the year, but also exciting to perform in front of a large crowd again after a while,” said Baek.
For some, the concert also marked a return to the collective atmosphere of performing with a full ensemble. Cellist Sarah-Alysse Williams ’28 described the moment the Symphony Orchestra reached its final chord, as a rush of sound that seemed to fill the entire space.
“I think our sound improved, and we became more cohesive overall,” said Williams. “It was a little nerve-racking because it was a big crowd, but overall it felt really good.”
The same mix of exhilaration and focus ran throughout the night. Clarinetist Carolyn Cao ’28, who played in both the Symphony Orchestra and the Wind Ensemble, noted how performing live reminded her how different music feels when it reaches an audience.
“It was very upbeat. There were a lot of parents in the audience, so they were really excited to see their kids perform. Everyone was hyped up, so it definitely wasn’t boring … I think this was a great way to show parents and students what we’ve been working on. It’s also a good introduction for new players to see what Andover’s music program is like. It’s a low-stakes concert, so it’s a good way for them to get used to performing,” said Cao.
By the end of the evening, nearly every seat in the Chapel was filled by students and families alike. The atmosphere felt personal in a way that was both celebratory and attentive. Nathan Ramani ’27 shared this sentiment of connection between the musicians and their audience, noting how the concert created moments of warmth and community.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Band and Orchestra concert as an audience member the other night. I went with my friends after Grasshopper and was blown away by the quality of the music after only a month and a half of school. I think that the ensembles did a good job connecting with the audience. I remember during Annabelle’s conducting, a little girl in the audience was trying to match her hand movements, which was really cute to see,” said Ramani.
