“I don’t think you ever walk into an ensemble and say, ‘Here’s how [this piece] should go,’” Nathan Sackschewsky, orchestra director, said. “You come together as a group on the musical aspects of it. That’s the fun thing about being a musician.”

Sackschewsky says he has been preparing for his first concert with the LZHS orchestra, working closely with musicians to perfect the pieces. Their first concert of the year will take place on October 18 at 7pm in this PAC. The concert will feature pieces from the concert and symphony orchestras as well as chamber strings.

“I’m really excited,” Sackschewsky said. “It’s such a fantastic group of students in both orchestras and I really am excited to present our hard work. It’s always a little scary at your first concert, you get a little nervous, I won’t lie. But we’re well rehearsed and ready to go. We’re eager to present our hard work.”

The hard work starts early, he says, long before the concert.

“[Preparation] happens much earlier,” Sackschewsky said. “I had pieces I was thinking would be a really great match for this ensemble. Because this is my first year in the position, I wanted to do some music that I was familiar with. I’ve done [the Hamerik symphony that the symphony orchestra will be doing] before, and it’s one of my favorite pieces.”

This piece will be the only piece the symphony orchestra plays, in contrast with previous concerts when they played multiple pieces.  

“Because symphony is just playing one song, it should be interesting to see how the quality is different,” Scott Brindise, junior cellist, said. “We have more time to dedicate to improving the one Hamerik piece.”