Photo from 2019 Performance

Pella School District Orchestra students will hold their first concert of the year next week.

Seniors Julia Smart and Braden Rowe have both been embracing the opportunity this fall to perform again amongst classmates and in front of the community, even with new challenges presented by safety precautions related to COVID-19.

Orchestra Instructor Montana Crawford says the concert coming up on October 8th is themed: Together.

“We are performing works by Black composers Scott Joplin, and Duke Ellington along with a few Jazz tunes in the high school to show the importance of Black composers’ in classical music. In the last few weeks, students worked on a project where they researched and presented a slideshow on a Black composer of their choosing who changed the course of classical music history. Other pieces that will be performed include music from La La Land and Amazing Grace.”

Performances by 7th through 12th grade students will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 8th in the Pella High School auditorium. The event will also be livestreamed on the Pella Dutch Live YouTube channel. Hear more about the Pella Community School District Orchestra on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.