The last orchestra concert of the academic year took place on Sunday afternoon. John Barry Hall was filled with the sounds of four ensembles: Amadeus, Camerata, Chamber, and Symphony Orchestra. The repertoire featured senior soloist Meara Wang ’26 performing Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1, movements one and two, alongside Bowtox Violin Quartet, consisting of Maggie Fulop ’26, Julia Song ’26, Claire Wang ’26, and Annabelle Wu ’26, performing Vivaldi Concerto for 4 Violins in B minor.
Dylan Wan ’28, concertmaster of Amadeus, described the theme of his ensemble as summer. Amadeus performed a program built around brightness and momentum, intending to signal the closing of the school year.
“The first piece Amadeus played is a very energetic piece. We’re going for a summer vibe. Like Dr. Aureden said, it was a ‘you’re so ready for summer’ type of piece. The second piece that we played was also simply called Summer. So, it’s safe to say Amadeus was really going for a summer vibe to get everyone excited for the upcoming break as we try to convey the energy of the pieces through our playing,” said Wan ’28.
Holly Barnes, director of Camerata Orchestra and Instructor in Music, designed the program around contrast. With choices including light and lilting in the Gavotte from Grieg’s Holberg Suite and being set against the weightier Mendelssohn Symphony No. 10, Barnes discussed how the Mendelssohn came to be on the program through student Tommy Parr’s ’29 initiative.
“I loved listening to Camerata, and I have loved working with them. They’re a really wonderful group of musicians who are really dedicated to the group… Tommy Parr suggested the Mendelssohn. I actually didn’t know the piece. I’ve played a lot of Mendelssohn symphonies, but I’ve never played that specific one or conducted it. After I went and listened to it, I thought that it’ll be a great piece for Camerata. It’s very dynamic and exciting, really great for young players. I then also chose Holberg because of their contrasting styles as the Greek was much lighter and the Mendelssohn was much more serious and virtuoso,” said Ms. Barnes.
Barnes coached the Bowtox Violin Quartet as the group prepared Vivaldi’s concerto. Maggie Fulop ’26 reflected on this long-awaited collaboration with friends and her growth as a musician at Andover.
“I’m somebody who gets really nervous for performances, so my goal for this performance was to be as not nervous as possible and just have a good time, because you don’t get these kinds of opportunities very often… We [Bowtox Violin Quartet] decided way back in Freshman year that we wanted to do this, and so it’s been planned for a while. We also had a couple of performance opportunities at trusty events, and at [All-School Meeting]… When I came here, I honestly sucked. I improved a lot at Andover, and I think I was very motivated by having a lot of friends in the orchestra, so take advantage of all the amazing peers you have around you,” said Fulop.
Adelyne Liu ’28 pointed to soloist Meara Wang’s performance as a highlight.
“The cello concerto that they played really stood out to me because it was so different from the other pieces that were played during the concert, and I really enjoyed it. It’s the last piece someone would cry to, but I was so moved by her playing that I started crying in the middle of the concert,” said Liu.
Derek Jacoby, director of both Symphony and Chamber Orchestras and Instructor in Music, described the orchestra’s role in supporting the Senior soloists and highlighted the concert’s overarching theme, “Through the Centuries.” Spanning four centuries of music, the program also offered a rare opportunity to perform a work by composer Joseph Bologne.
“For the music with the soloists, the soloist is given as much freedom as they want musically. It’s the job of the orchestra to frame and fit that autonomy, and always be ready to react to what the soloist might do… Joseph Bologne is a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) composer from the French colony of Guadalupe, and it is not very common to have underrepresented composers of the classical era. So to be able to perform a work of his and give that story some further publicity was another goal of ours,” said Jacoby.
Despite the emotional departure of the Class of 2026 in just a few weeks, the Chamber Orchestra and a few Seniors, such as Gu, still have concerts in the near future. Ian Gu ’26 found himself reflecting as the end of the program drew near.
“Before the orchestra began Kaiser Waltzer by Strauss, I thought to myself that this would be the last piece of music that I would be performing for [Andover]. So I was feeling a little bit sentimental before we started. I really tried to enjoy and savor the last regular orchestra concert that I would have at Andover,” said Gu.
