SJHS News

Kara Dunn
SJHS Staff Writer

Once again, music is filling the halls and, more specifically, the auditorium, at Springville Junior High.  Mr. Samuel Tsagawa, orchestra director at Springville Junior High, has led his Synfonia Orchestra to success and this time is taking a few others along with him. The Springville Junior High Synfonia orchestra was joined with the New Horizons Orchestra from Brigham Young University to perform a joint concert.

The New Horizons Orchestra is made up of students who attend BYU and are over the age of forty. Most members of the orchestra missed their sixth grade window to learn how to play an instrument. However, there are a few who used to play but who forgot and are now re-learning how to play their instrument.

Why, you may ask, did Mr. Tsagawa choose this specific group to join him in his performance? I had the chance to sit down and ask him a few questions. “I’m working on a PhD and for one of the projects you have to do a big research project called a dissertation. I chose to do my project on the New Horizons Orchestra.”

One of the songs that the New Horizons Orchestra performed was called ‘Remote Control’ and sounds just like you changing channels on a television. This song was entertaining to listen to and the orchestra had a blast performing it.

Alex Smith, one of the members of the Synfonia Orchestra commented on the combination of the two orchestras. “It’s a lot of fun to play with them because they’re older, but at our playing level.” Ashley Johnson, another member of the Synfonia Orchestra, told me her favorite thing about taking orchestra, “The music, the challenge, and being able to play with friends.”  The orchestra only had the opportunity to rehearse with New Horizons twice before their big night. However, they performed to the best of their abilities and their best was enough to amaze the audience.