TOWAMENCIN- The Clemens Auditorium at Christopher Dock High School was filled with the music of Bartok, Gruver, Edward German, and Tchaikovsky last Saturday night. Members of YMCO played a “Dance” themed show, while dancers from Delaware Valley Dance Academy performed pieces from their annual holiday show of the Nutcracker.

The Young Musicians Community Orchestra, or YMCO, is a group of students who play at various concerts and venues throughout the year. Composed of students mainly from the North Penn School District, the orchestra is an audition based group, occupying only the most advanced musicians in the Montgomery County area.

As the musicians began to tune their instruments, the noisy chatter of the crowd softened, and the conductor, Mr. Jonas Yoder, motioned for the students to prepare their set list.

Starting with music from Bartok, the musicians played Romanian folk tunes focusing on violin and flute melodies. Next came the premiere of “Boot and Petals,” written by Gruver and composed specifically for YMCO. The piece addressed “freedom, order, impermanence and dogmatism, the joy of living and the creation of meaning.” The last section before intermission was “Three Dances,” written by Edward German, the music director at the Globe Theater in London beginning in 1888.

Once finished with this eclectic set, the musicians began with the popular sounds of The Nutcracker. The first song played was the Overture, which called skaters, carolers, and children to the stage to dance. Following this number was the music of Little Miss Muffet and the Kissing Doll, the classic toy dolls from the ballet. Next came the music of many different countries, including Spain, China, Arabia, and Russia. Delaware Valley Dance Academy brought their most experienced dancers to the show, who performed with energy and grace.

After the concert finished, there were refreshments for the musicians, dancers, and audience members in the lobby.

DVDA dancer Abby Steinly thought the night was a great way for the other dancers to get out of their comfort zone.

“I think it was such a good experience for us to work with a live orchestra while performing. Normally, we dance to a CD, so we know the tempos and are used to the way it sounds. But with the orchestra, we really had to open our ears and listen to their musical cues and work with their tempos.”

North Penn High School sophomore Jinie Eom, who played the violin throughout the evening, talked about the rewards and challenges of the night.

“The new experience of working together with the dancers instead of just the orchestra, and of course the amazing show where all the practices paid off, were some of the pros of the night. Cons were the fast speed we had to play which was very different from rehearsals and not being able to watch the dancers because I was playing.”

Also a sophomore at NPHS, Francis Burk played his violin for the concert. Burk, also the Concert Master, holds a high position in the orchestra. He tunes the entire orchestra before playing and comes in as the last member of the ensemble when walking into the auditorium.

Burk explained how working with the dancers gave him a new understanding of the seemingly “old” music.

“The dancers provided the work with a physical interpretation which enabled us as musicians to possibly view the piece from a different angle and realize different expressive points which were previously not of emphasis.”

DVDA has their winter show of The Nutcracker coming up December 5^th and 6^th,and a spring show, and YMCO has a concert in the spring as well with the theme of Movies. Any of those who watched last Saturday’s show could attest to its musical and performing success and would certainly encourage others to attend future shows.