By Cody Repine

On Tuesday, Oct. 18, the FC orchestra held a special treat for fans of rock and fine arts alike.

The more than 300 musicians of the combined FC and Highland Hill Middle School orchestra departments performed classic rock tunes from Queen, Led Zeppelin, Kansas, The Beatles, and more. Seven orchestras of varied skill levels played for a packed house in the gym. Performances ranged from the simple and repetitive for the less experienced musicians to the downright virtuosic solos of seniors Anna Patterson, Hannah Henderson, Quinn Klarer, Sydney Shelton, juniors Josh Druin and Gannon Yeaton, as well as freshmen Chelsea Balmer and Madison Eickholtz.

At the start of the show, orchestra director Doug Elmore explained the proper Orchestra Rocks! etiquette: yelling, whistling, and whooping were all appropriate, even encouraged, unlike at other orchestra events. The first piece was a mass tune “We Will Rock You” that showcased all of the students while symphony orchestra took care of the heavy lifting.

Symphony orchestra’s first feature, “Carry on My Wayward Son,” garnered applause from the audience as soon as Elmore announced the name of the band, Kansas.  The song was the best suited for an orchestra. Essentially, it was set up like a fugue, with its layered voices.  Resonance coming from the running sixteenth notes could literally be felt, and awestruck onlookers thundered with applause.

In “Kashmir,” a floating melody on the violins graced an underlay of chromatic motion on the cellos, accented by basses every other measure.  Klarer  performed an edgy electric cello solo, an obvious crowd favorite, as part of it was eclipsed by overzealous applause.  Perhaps the most compelling visual element of the evening was the way the musicians moved as one unit during this piece. The next selection, “Renegade” by Styx, began with a haunting cello chorale that exploded into the fitful, jagged character of the song, punctuated by a tempestuous solo from Henderson on the electric cello.

“Fat Bottom Girls” was loaded with  complex rhythms that would boggle any performer’s mind and featured both an electric violin solo and duet. Yeaton entertained in his solo with his rocker attitude, wide-eyed and smiling, with his tongue between his teeth, he finished with an ascending slide. The tune ended with a bang as Shelton and Eickholtz played a fiery duet in harmonic fifths.

“Stairway to Heaven” started with a dulcet, arpeggiated harp solo by Balmer, and gradually gathered energy from each section, coming to a pause on soft chords. The second phase picked up with a soulful, lilting violin solo from Druin.  Syncopated, driving rhythms carried “Stairway to Heaven” to the end when Patterson, on an acoustic cello, finished the last iconic lyric.

The concert ended softly with “Hey Jude” for the finale. By far the most interactive song, it had the audience clapping and singing along with the familiar “na-na-na…na-na-na-na…na-na-na-na…Hey Jude.”

This  captivating orchestral experience will soon be available on CD and DVD for those who missed it, and for those who wish to relive it.