Conductor Hartung, formal in her black, floor-length dress, young and beautiful with long brown hair curling below her shoulders, is such a role model for adolescent females aspiring to be better musicians, as well as a role model for all the members of the orchestra. She speaks with an intimate understanding of the music the orchestra is about to play, perhaps reminding the young musicians, as well as informing the audience, of the story and mood of the next piece. I’ve selected three of the eight pieces performed last night to highlight : 1) Two tangos: "Tango Tzigane" and "Tango Jalousie," 2) "In a Persian Market," and 3) "Danse Macabre."

Two Tangos ("Tango Tzigane," by D. Rubinoff, and "Jalousie," by J. Gade, orchestrated by Artistic Conductor, Marjorie Hartung, performed by Nicolas Decavel-Bueff, violin, and the symphony orchestra). These tangos swayed, pranced, threatened, forgave, and returned with the vibrancy of Nicolas’s virtuosity on the violin. His solo violin was enhanced and punctuated by the orchestra, coming in to enlarge the movement, and provide the scene behind the drama. What a talented conductor PCYO has in Marjorie Hartung, who not only works with the individual young musicians, but orchestrates a piece to bring out and let shine the skill and talent of the soloist. Nicolas, standing front and center, tall, handsome in his dress suit, his blond curly head tipped to hold his violin on his shoulder, played confidently, exquisitely, with fire, with long swaying rich tones, with plenty of tension and release. We all wish Nicolas well as he graduates and departs PCYO.

In a Persian Market by Albert Ketelbey, was conducted by young Assistant Conductor, Ben Hartung, and a fine job of encouraging and controlling the large orchestra he did. The orchestra brought to life for the audience the camel drivers, jugglers, snake charmers and a whole Persian marketplace. Neha Kompella and Shannon Carey, on flutes, set the exotic mood, and Noah Grove and Benjamin Maheny, were magical on clarinets. All the musicians, when their time came, were spot ready to play their part—brass and bassoon. Of course, the large violin section, the violas, the cellos, all the strings, were all wonderful.

Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saёns, tells the tale of Death incarnate playing his violin at midnight on Halloween as he calls the dead from their graves. Assistant Conductor Wayland Whitney brought this eerie scene to us in full scary detail, explaining before the performance what the music symbolized and what we could expect. Udi Jonnalagadda, violin, had the privilege of playing the part of Death on solo violin. Udi is the accomplished violinist who played solo violin at PCYO’s last performance, showing off his immeasurable talents. Last night, Udi got to play extended “tri-tones,” those tones attributed to the devil himself, so dissonant are tri tones. And another fine performance was given by Udi. "Danse Macabre" was at turns exciting, lilting, lovely, yet haunting, thanks to the hard work and dedication of PCYO.

The next PCYO concert is May 25, 2015, with a patriotic salute to our armed forces.