On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the two LOHS orchestras performed their first concert of the year. The Philharmonic Orchestra opened the night with Chris Thomas’ “Rainfall in Vernazza,” the allegro movement of J.C. Bach’s “Symphony in D Major” and Richard Meyer’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The Philharmonic is mostly composed of freshman and sophomores and is conducted by orchestra teacher Eri Nogueira.

The Philharmonic section was followed by an intermission, during which a string quartet of Cyndee Li, Sophia Wang, Lauren Zhang and Ashley Lewis performed.

After the 15 minute intermission, the Symphony Orchestra took the stage. The group, also conducted by Nogueira, performed three songs: George Gershwin’s “Lullaby,” Arcangelo Corelli’s “Concerto Grosso no. 4” and Bela Bartok’s “Romanian Dances.” All contained solos from members of the orchestra.

Junior Ellie Tanimura is concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra and served as lead soloist for the pieces. “I think there are always ways we can improve, but I think overall our hard work paid off,” she said in regards to the concert as a whole.

Senior viola Joey Takach agreed. “All of the solos in all of the pieces were really good,” he said. Soloists included junior violin Evan Petticord and junior cello Christine Youn, along with Tanimura. “I was kind of nervous at first, but I started thinking more about the music than the notes, and it was easier,” Tanimura said.

Going forward, the orchestra will continue work in a variety of areas. “We’re excited for chamber groups,” said Takach, in reference to the small group performances that take place during the winter concert. Tanimura was also excited about the coming weeks. “We’re bringing in Tomas Cotik, a really great violinist. He’s a professional soloist, so we’ll be an accompaniment orchestra,” she said.