The lights of the Performing Arts Center dim. A hush spreads through the audience. All eyes fall on the conductor. The marimba lays down an insistent rhythmic pulse, propelling the combined band into motion. 

As the Spring Concert opened on March 12 with an energetic and playful rendition of Brian Balmages’ “Groove Music,” something was different about the stage that night. Musicians from TPHS and San Dieguito Academy sat side by side in the combined band and full orchestra performances, a continuation of their partnership from the Forum Music Festival on March 8 and 9, where both ensembles received gold ratings. SDA Music Director Jeremy Wuertz conducted the combined band, while TPHS Music Director Amy Gelb conducted the full orchestra.

“That’s the first time that we [have] ever done that,” Gelb said. “When we do festivals like the weekend trip … we don’t always get everyone that can go because of conflicts or because of [the cost] so it always makes it difficult to have full instrumentation … That makes a big hole in the ensemble. So Mr. Wuertz and I … we just kind of had this idea like ‘hey, what if we just combined, and then we might not have that problem.’”

The band’s tone shifted as the jarring opening notes of Gary D. Ziek’s “Nemesis” preceded the ominous beat of the percussion and the descending motif of the winds. Each piercing note created an atmosphere dripping with warning and malevolence, as if the eponymous Greek goddess’s vengeful presence was drawing closer and closer.  

Wuertz, a long-time colleague of Gelb, addressed the audience in the break between pieces. 

“I really feel like in the last few weeks [Gelb and I have] gone from acquaintances to friends … it’s just been a really fun journey to get to collaborate,” Wuertz said. “She’s a consummate professional, she’s incredibly detail-oriented, she creates such amazing opportunities for you guys here at Torrey Pines … I just wanted to tell each and every one of you how lucky you are to have such a dedicated music educator…”

The band’s final piece was “Arabesque” by Samuel Hazo, “one of the students’ most favorite pieces” as described by Wuertz on stage. A resonant hit of the timpani signaled the first notes of SDA flute section leader Aadi Sarikonda’s solo. A haunting melody inspired by taqsim saturated the room. Delicate trills and scales fed into a frenzied dance, concluding with a sweeping and majestic recapitulation. 

“It’s so upbeat and it has [a bit of] everything,” TPHS flute section leader Scarlett Hyun (12) said. 

The Spring Concert featured all the music program’s festival music, including pieces played at the Forum Music Festival for the combined band and full orchestra, and the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association Festival, which the string orchestra attended the day after the concert. 

“This is my 25th year teaching, so I’ve kind of learned what types of pieces [the judges] want to hear, and you have to think about the strengths and the weaknesses of your ensemble, and what you want to showcase,” Gelb said. “… There’s a lot of factors that go into that … it’s just trying to get lots of variety.”

While the repertoire did not feature a dominant seasonal theme, as with the Fall and Winter concerts, naturally, connections emerged. As strings joined the stage to form the full orchestra under Gelb’s direction, the spirited opening of Jacques Offenbach’s “Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld” set an exuberant tone, resonating with the Hellenic roots of “Nemesis.” 

“They paired together so well because they were both Greek mythology and had awesome stories that went along with them, so that really worked out,” Gelb said. “I really liked Orpheus because that’s the first time I’ve done that piece … so it’s nice to do something new. And that one has just so many beautiful melodies and solos.”

The overture, an opening to Offenbach’s operetta, culminated in a jubilant rendition of the “Galop Infernal” or Can-Can, which had the audience tapping their fingers and shoes to the infectious rhythm.

Equally captivating, yet strikingly different in style was “Bacchanale,” the other of the orchestra’s two pieces. 

“I really liked ‘Bacchanale,’ and this was my third time playing it,” Mila Keres (11), principal second violinist in the full and string orchestras, said. “I remember being obsessed with this piece in middle school, so it’s always fun to get to play it.”

With a wild abandon and fierce intensity, the only word that came to mind was “revelry” — the music pulsed with an untamed energy.

“[The collaboration] worked out really well,” Gelb said. “We had everything we needed, and it was really fun to have our students meet each other, make new friends.”

Besides having the opportunity to play with musicians from another school, the students got to experience “a different instructor” and a “different teaching style” according to Gelb. 

“It was so great,” Hyun said. “I had so much fun, and I’m pretty sure everyone else had so much fun too.” 

After two dynamic, fast-paced performances from the full orchestra, the string orchestra took on a more pensive mood. 

“Full orchestra is a more powerful experience, and there is much more dimension and texture within the sound,” Keres said. “The string orchestra is a more intimate experience, and since there are less people, it feels more personal.”

Their first piece was “Of Glorious Plumage,” a sonorous, lush piece that captures birds at rest and in flight. A personal favorite, and even more ethereal when listened to with eyes closed, it is as if one can see soaring wings take shape beneath their eyelids. 

Continuing the natural imagery, the strings played “Luberon Dances,” painting a vivid picture of the Luberon mountain ranges of France in five movements. 

“That [piece] was extremely difficult,” Gelb said. “They played it very, very well. And the next day at SCSBOA, one of the judges … was really blown away and congratulated them on their collegiate performance … and just told them this is not a normal high school orchestra.” 

Indeed, the over ten minute long piece echoed the vastness of the mountains, from valleys to peaks, ochre cliffs to verdant foliage and old villages to castle ruins. In the third movement, the crystal clear notes of concertmaster Anthony Kim (11), violist Thomas Ducom (11) and cellist Vera Muller (9) soared above the gentle, rolling accompaniment, their melodies evoking an overwhelming sense of nostalgia blended with something else — an emotion too elusive to put words to. 

To end the night, the jazz band swung on stage with seven dynamic tunes of diverse elements, including folk, ballads, swing, blues and theater. Lindy Crosby (11), Gioia Nowers (9) and Raisa Tuerxun (12) all performed as vocalists, and Gelb herself played the saxophone. 

“The past couple years, like after COVID, our numbers haven’t been great, so there’s supposed to be five parts for saxophone and we’ve had four,” Gelb said. “… I’m hoping that one of these years, we’ll have enough that I don’t have to do that anymore.”

The last piece of the night, “Better Get Hit In Your Soul” by Charles Mingus, featured improvisational solos from many jazz band members, and was jazz violinist Jiwon Ryu’s (11) favorite piece. Ryu remembered how Gelb aptly called the song “controlled chaos” during the rehearsal process.

Like in the Winter Concert, the jazz performances featured the program’s new electric violin, an instrument that Ryu has grown more familiar with since the last performance. Ryu joined the band this school year out of interest in jazz after previously being part of the orchestra. She is now working to “assimilate [her] sound” with the other instruments and practice improvising solo parts.  

“I’m getting familiar with how the chords work … what works and what doesn’t,” Ryu said. 

Behind each piece of music lies Gelb’s dedication to the program. She bridges gaps in the ensemble, accommodating missing instruments like the French horn, and arranges sheet music to incorporate new instruments like Ryu’s violin.

“I spend hours and hours and hours rewriting music,” Gelb said. “… And when we start our new pieces, I spend probably 30 hours rewriting parts … it’s a lot of work.”

The music department’s schedule grows busier after the concert. On April 11, the jazz band will take the stage at the SDUHSD Jazz Festival, hosted by TPHS. Gelb will also take the SDA and TPHS jazz bands on a trip to New Orleans later that month.

“We usually go every other year, and this year, since I’m teaching the SDA jazz band, I decided to bring them as well so we get to do some more collaboration,” Gelb said.

Meanwhile, the string orchestra advanced to regional finals for SCSBOA due to receiving a superior rating. With just nine weeks left until their final concert of the year, the entire department is poring over fresh sheet music.  

“The groups are very different, personality-wise, band, orchestra and jazz band,” Gelb said. “… For example the orchestra is quiet and very serious. It contrasts a lot to, like the jazz band, where we just have a ton of fun. They’re talking a lot during class but also very productive. It’s just very different, the style of how I interact with each group.”