by Giovanni Alvarado
Musical sounds filled the air all over the Bicentennial Park on Thursday, August 28th, 2014 as the All City String Orchestra performed with such finesse and awe that it left the audience speechless many times. They played a total of 8 songs by many amazing artists. The concert was well directed by Mr. Lipari. He seemed to sway his hands and baton with great passion and excitement. The following songs were “The Star Spangled Banner”, “Instant Concert”, “Airport Road”, “Evening Alleluias”, “Somewhere Out There”, “Eleanor Rigby”, “Quatros Dance”, “Incantations”, and “Pallado”. “Incantations” seem to have pleased the crowd most. The audience was deeply captivated by the performance and were very comfortably dressed as if they were at home relaxing. Although for many of the performers in the orchestra it was the exact opposite; many of their music notes started flying all over. This caused confusion at some points when performing, as many stated in the end. “It was so hard to keep reading the notes and bow at the same time” said one performer.
Much of the audience clapped loudly after each performance. One of the volunteers there for the concert’s assistance, Pat Kaveney said “Astounding performance, it amazes me how these kids learned this since there junior high years!” Another audience member, Harrison Pedersen, who happens to be a student from Joliet Central, said, “It was spectacular to the end, everyone seemed to relax and enjoy the show.” Mary Herbig also thought all performers deserved recognition and said, “I thought this concert was absolutely beautiful, and everybody in the orchestra deserves recognition for their hard work.”
For many of the performers it was quite obvious they practiced very well by their hard efforts but some felt they needed more preparation. “We were absolutely fantastic, however I feel like we could have had even more of practice” said Veronica Alcantar. In the end, everyone left with pure nostalgic feelings and carried on home with heartwarming smiles and laughs from children. The Bicentennial Park could have not looked and sounded more beautiful.