South Huntington Student Musicians Unite for the 4th Annual Night of 1,000 Strings
The North Gym at Walt Whitman High School was transformed into a massive stage as the district’s student musicians from 5th through 12th grades, instruments poised, stretched from one end of the floor to the other. The occasion was the 4th Annual Night of 1,000 Strings, a showcase featuring the string orchestras from Maplewood, Birchwood, Silas Wood, Stimson, and Walt Whitman.
The evening presents a unique progression of talent: each ensemble performed a selection of individual pieces before all five schools joined together as one group for a grand finale of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.”
South Huntington’s Chairman of Music, Art and Dance, Mr. Matt Hoffman, helped establish this tradition four years ago. Beyond the music, the event serves as a testament to the strength of the South Huntington Music and Arts program. It provides younger students with a firsthand look at the musical journey awaiting them as they move toward high school. “You hear it when you listen to the fifth graders, and then you listen to the high school musicians. There's clear growth, and it's evident to everyone in the room, and hopefully inspiring to everyone in the room to continue, stick with it, go from grade to grade, and not stop in their pursuit of music education,” said Mr. Hoffman.
Our youngest musicians started the evening. The Birchwood and Maplewood combined orchestras of 5th graders played Five Note Fiddler followed by Power Rock, which was a combination of Queen’s catchy We Will Rock You and Another One Bites the Dust. The Silas Wood Orchestra also went pop with our 6th grade musicians performing John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Yesterday. The 8th graders of the Stimson Middle School Orchestra performed two numbers, Nightrider and Turbulence. The final ensemble of the night, The Walt Whitman Symphonic Orchestra, brought us back to a pop favorite – And So It Goes by Long Island’s Piano Man, Billy Joel. They finished with the pastoral and serene The Faraway Place. The finale returned to the classics with our musicians from every grade playing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy all together.
It was clear that a lot of hard work and rehearsals went into the evening’s performances. Thank you to Walt Whitman’s Lamplighters club for all their technical and backstage support. And we thank our talented student musicians and their teachers for bringing us this night of beautiful music!
Fifth-grade orchestra students from both Maplewood and Birchwood joined together to play under the direction of Ms. Sarah Weiss.
Silas Wood sixth-graders got the attention of audience members as they played the well known tune ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles.
Stimson Middle School’s 8th grade orchestra students impressed the audience as they took turns playing with the high school.
Before each grade level played ‘Ode to Joy’ together for the grand finale, the high school orchestra showed the younger grades how years of experience — and practice – make for a skillful performance.