The pandemic has obviously been an impact on all of LHS. No matter if it was small or big, everyone played a part in how it was going to turn out. When people look at extracurriculars and how they have to come to change with the rules and regulations that have to be met for the class or program to even be allowed, it makes people wonder how some of the big classes, like band or orchestra, are overcoming these challenges and have learned to “fight back” against this pandemic so that the class can still remain fun for everyone.

When students are dealing with a class that involves playing music, it is always important that the class has people who are passionate about what they do. One of the many obstacles the Orchestra department had to overcome was the overall quality of how the music they are producing is being played. Orchestra needs the right amount of people in a classroom in order to create a rich sound because if the student musicians are just playing with a limited amount of people, then they will not have the best quality of the music they are playing than a classroom with a lot of people in it.

“Orchestra has been good. It is definitely different than the normal though. We have about half of the students we normally have and we are all spread out six feet from each other, which makes a difference in the overall sound,” said freshman violinist Catey Whitt.

“Orchestra has been working out pretty well but there are some changes that were made during the pandemic. For example, we have individual stands instead of stand partners because of the six feet regulation. Also, we have half of the orchestra and for BB day students, we have more violins than other instruments so the balance of the music can sound different,” said junior violist Brianna Whitt.

Another important thing to note is the opinions and the overall emotion of how people feel. Many student musicians feel that if they knew how the orchestra was going to play out, then they might not have even enrolled in the course at all.

“I thought that class would be different in the way we would be able to hear all the instruments, but on A day, there are no basses or cellos in-person, including me. If I was told that it was going to be like this [then] I’m not 100% sure I would take it because it is so different,” said freshman cellist Caitlyn Chaney.

“The one thing I would have told myself is that things will not be the same. I will also adjust to it being done in a different way and enjoy it just as much as I did before the pandemic,” said C. Whitt.

“I went into orchestra knowing that there would be some changes due to the pandemic, but one thing I would have told myself before signing up during a pandemic would be that nothing is guaranteed because it could be canceled due to the coronavirus,” said B. Whitt.

Ultimately, the orchestra department did a great job on their part and the orchestra plans to continue to improve and grow from this crazy situation the pandemic has put everyone through.