For the Portage County Gazette

STEVENS POINT — The Stevens Point Area Senior High Orchestra will be presenting their Spring Orchestra Concert on Thursday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the SPASH Auditorium.  The SPASH Orchestra, directed by Cynthia Kiepert, will open the concert with senior violinist, Roshini Traynor & her brother, sophomore Dinesh Traynor performing the Vivaldi Double Concerto for Violin & Cello. Senior violinist, Hope Mahon, will be featured performing “Polish Dance” by Edmund Severn, a lively dance with sweeping melodies. The string orchestra will play highlights from “Moana” and a jazzy rondo that conjures up images of the Deep South in “Swamp Thang” composed by Richard Meyer.”

Following the string orchestra will be the premiere performances of the Very Young Composers of Central Wisconsin compositions for the SPASH Symphony Orchestra. This year the two VYC composers are Nathan Zuge, a 4th grade student at Bannach School and Bennett Story, a home-schooled 4th grader.  Nathan’s piece is called “Waves in the Moonlight” and he thought about music that was “happy and sad at the same time.” On the other hand, Bennett, when he was composing thought of “dark, sad and scary music” for his composition, which is called “March of the Sith.” Kiepert said, “both pieces are wonderfully creative and what an opportunity for our community to have the Very Young Composers of Central Wisconsin in our community for the children of CW.”

The concert finale section will feature the SPASH Symphony Orchestra playing Gould’s “American Salute”, which is based on “ When Johnny Comes Marching Home” and  Gustav Holst’s “The Planets: Jupiter the Bringer of Jollity.”

“Please join us for our concert at SPASH on May 10.  All of the students are amazing & I would especially like to give a “Thank You” to all of our wonderful senior musicians from the Orchestra,” said orchestra conductor Cindy Kiepert.