On Nov. 8, in Lansing Recital Hall, director Daniel Brier conducted the Biola Symphony Orchestra, inspiring the spirit of the Thanksgiving season. But filling the hall with the beautiful melodies of famous compositions is no easy feat. Lots of time and practice went into the making of this performance.
BEHIND THE STAGE
“We put [in] a lot more time than a lot of people think we do for performances,” sophomore music education major, Alyssa Moriel, said.
Moriel became involved with the orchestra in the Spring of 2024 because they were in need of a tubist. As the only music major that played the tuba, Moriel stepped up.
“But what brought my inspiration [to join] was the dedication that everyone puts into this ensemble,” Moriel said. “Being in orchestra is amazing – though I don’t play much for orchestra – I love to listen to everyone create beautiful music all around me.”
About a month before the concert, Moriel began preparing. Her main focus was getting the note to sound on time, providing a solid, round tone. The orchestra held full ensemble rehearsals for two and a half hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights. They also had occasional hour-long section rehearsals. In the midst of school, these rehearsals can be hard to fit into an already crammed schedule.
“For orchestra, I do have to miss quite a lot of [rehearsals] because of my busy schedule,” Moriel said. “But once it’s performance week, that’s the focus of my individual practice for that week.”
Brier was exemplary at accommodating the students while also making the rehearsals a positive experience, ensuring that he articulated what he wanted the orchestra to sound like.
“[Brier] is probably the kindest director I have. He’s very nice when addressing issues within our rehearsals,” Moriel said. “He’s also very understanding, accommodating many of the performers’ messy schedules.”
In the Symphony Orchestra concert, Moriel played for “Dvořák Symphony No. 9, Mvt. II,” a composition by Antonín Dvořák. Moriel also plays the tuba in the Symphonic Winds and Jazz Ensemble. She performed in the recent Symphonic Winds concert and PRISM concert, which has been her favorite thus far, and will be performing in the upcoming Jazz Ensemble concert on Nov. 15 in Ethel Lee Auditorium.
