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The Arcadia High School Orchestral Music program has three performing
orchestras lead by directors Mr. England and Mr. Forbes. The three orchestras
give many different performances throughout the school
year. Aside from concerts, the orchestras also take part in various
competitions and festivals, in addition to the annual Benefit Dinner.
Members of the orchestras also have the opportunity to perform in small
chamber groups and quartets in various fundraisers and other events.
The Orchestra program is
divided into three Orchestra: Orchestra
1 (Freshman Orchestra, Orchestra 2 (String Orchestra) and Orchestra 3 (Symphony
Strings). The Symphony Strings makes up
the nucleus for the Arcadia High School Symphony Orchestra

2005-2006 Orchestra 1
Orchestra 1 (Freshman Orchestra)
is composed entirely of freshman. What has traditionally been a
group of about 50-60 members has in recent years blossomed into a
grand ensemble of close to 100 members. Mr. Rick England conducts the
orchestra, which performs many concerts, ranging from a beautiful
Winter Concert, to the nice
spring Concert in the Park, to the Fall String Concert (which it
is one of the six orchestras
performing). The orchestra also performs yearly at Disneyland's
Carnation Plaza and takes a trip to Long Beach where they
perform at SCSBOA String Festival. |

2005-2006 Orchestra 2
Orchestra 2 (String Orchestra)
has in the past been the largest of the three groups, so large, in
fact, that it's director, Mr. Tom Forbes, has had to split the group
into two periods in order to accommodate the size of the orchestra
room. In addition to their many concerts, the orchestra goes with
Orchestra 3 on the annual 4-5 day tour to places such as San Diego
and San Francisco. On the tour, the orchestra also teams up with
Orchestra 3 to compete as the Arcadia High School String Orchestra,
which perennially wins prestigious awards at the competitions.
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2005-2006 Orchestra 3
To be a
member of Orchestra 3 (Symphony Strings), the musicians must audition. The group
performs a wide variety of music, from Dvorak and Mendelssohn to
Andrew Lloyd Webber and John Williams. In this past year, the
orchestra competed in the Heritage Festival at San Jose, CA, and won
multiple awards, including Best Orchestra Program and Best
Performance by an Orchestra. The ensemble often joins with brass,
wind, and percussionists from the band to perform as the Arcadia High
School Symphony Orchestra in
many of the year's concerts. The orchestra is directed by both Mr.
Rick England and Mr. Tom Forbes. |
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