Thomasville City Schools Orchestras performed with the Tallahassee Youth Orchestra in celebration of their 30th anniversary on Sunday, February 23rd, 2020 in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall on the campus of Florida State University. The side-by-side concert featured the TYO Intermezzo Strings, directed by Ashley Hagadorn-Brien, with the MacIntyre Park Middle School Scholars Academy Orchestra; TYO Chamber Orchestra, directed by Megan Morris, with the Thomasville High School Scholars Academy Orchestra; and the TYO Symphony Orchestra, directed by Chris Miller, with members of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Sally Hernandez is the director of the Thomasville City Schools Orchestra students that participated and conducted a piece with the Intermezzo and Chamber Orchestras.
All participating students enjoyed a pizza lunch together and made many new friends that share a common love of orchestral music. This is the first time Dr. Hernandez has conducted in Ruby Diamond Concert Hall and the first time the Thomasville City Schools Orchestra Program has performed in a venue of this size and caliber. The successful collaboration took months of preparation to plan. Dr. Sally Hernandez currently serves on the Tallahassee Youth Orchestra Board and plays in the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Hernandez and Dr. Colleen Wade direct the Thomasville City Schools Orchestra Program serving students in 4th-12th grade.
TYO Intermezzo Strings and MacIntyre Park Middle School Scholars Academy performed: “Avatar” by Doug Spata, “Old French Melody” by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and “Valse Diabolique” by Joseph Compello.
TYO Chamber Orchestra and Thomasville High School Scholars Academy performed: “Rondo Alla Turca” by W.A. Mozart/arranged by Larry Clark (from Sonata in A Major, K. 331), “Reverie for String Orchestra” by James Corigliano, and “A Birch Bay Celebration” by Richard Meyer.
TYO Symphony and Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra performed: “The Great Gate of Kiev from Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modeste Moussorgsky/arranged by Bruno Reibold, “Polovetsian Dances from Prince Igor” by Alexander Borodin, and “Marche Slav” by P.I. Tchaikovsky, ed. by Steven Rosenhaus.