The schools orchestra’s annual Winter Concert, scheduled for was was canceled Monday due to some levels of orchestras not being ready to play.

Sophomore Hannah Langenbach, a violist in the highest-level orchestra, Chamber, is one of many who are glad the concert was called off.

“Personally I don’t mind that the concert is cancelled,” she said. “Our orchestra was ready to play, but we never did seating auditions. I feel the seating for some of the new people in Chamber is off. Seating is important to the sound of the orchestra because moving people to the right spots improves the sound.”

The concert was originally scheduled for Dec. 5, however was moved a week later because the chorus concert was also set at the same date. 

“Our concert was bumped a week back, pushing it to the week before midterms,” Langenbach said. “With midterms coming up, I have to study, and I have a lot of things due this week. On top of that, our audience for the concert is normally just our parents, and since we lost our date at Eau Gallie last week, we don’t really fit in the West Shore auditorium.”

In addition, orchestra director Maureen Fallon fell ill last week and would not have been able to attend.

“I would prefer to have a concert that Ms. Fallon was there,” Langenbach said. “We recycle music from year to year, and we always have Ms. Fallon conducting certain pieces.”

Freshman Cassidy Kuhar, a cellist in Chamber Orchestra, said she felt let down by the decision.

“I’m really disappointed that the concert was cancelled,” she said. “I feel like our orchestra was ready to play. We sounded good, and we were confident in what we were playing. It feels like all of our hard work has gone down the drain. We have been working on this music for about a month now.”

The last-minute cancellation proved to be an inconvenience for Kuhar’s family.

“My father was in Ohio on a business trip, and he came down specifically for the concert,” Kuhar said. “He wanted to come support the orchestra for our first orchestra concert of the school year. He came down, and was planning on only staying a day here before going back.”

Freshman Elizabeth Beattie, a cellist in Chamber Orchestra, said she was looking forward to the opportunity to perform for an audience.

“It’s pretty disappointing, because I feel the orchestras that were prepared should be able to show off how hard we worked,” Beattie said. “This is my first year in Chamber, and I was excited for the concert. I’m finally in the top tier and I wanted to be able to show how I deserve to be there, and how I could play.”

Combined with the cancellation of the Dessert Concert fund-raiser earlier in the school year, orchestra has yet to perform.

“First, our Desert Concert Fund-raiser was pushed back because of the hurricane,” she said. “And then it was completely cancelled, even though many ensembles had spent a long time practicing their music. We haven’t had any performances in the first semester. Hopefully our concert at the end of the school year isn’t cancelled either.”

By Haley Alvarez-Lauto