In late March, the Syosset Chamber Orchestra was welcomed on stage at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta to accept the Grand National Champion award, described as the behemoth “taller than Lynn Tuttle” trophy, for this year’s American String Teachers Association (ASTA) convention.
The ASTA hosts an annual convention for musicians and teachers from around the country. Every year, ASTA organizes a competition for high school orchestras, and this year marked Syosset’s first year entering the competition. As such, the orchestra members had to prepare a repertoire of several pieces, ranging from rhythmic Latin American music to contemporary pieces, all chosen by the Chamber Orchestra Director Ms. Stephanie Merten.
Leading up to the competition, Ms. Merten held after school rehearsals, recordings in small groups, and invited alumni and teachers from other schools to provide feedback for the orchestra, all of which she credits for the orchestra’s success. “Our attention to detail and nuance of phrasing, timing, uniformity- I believe all the work that we put into it helped reach those goals. The students really did put the work in that was necessary,” said Ms. Merten.
The orchestra also recognized the importance of having Ms. Merten to lead them. “Without the guidance of Ms. Merten, I don’t think we would have necessarily known as a group what direction we want to go in,” said senior cellist Justin Greenberg. For Justin, it was a combination of Ms. Merten’s tutelage and the orchestra’s collective opinions that allowed them to win.
The chamber orchestra embarked on a four-day trip to Atlanta, where they performed for judges, attended workshops with seasoned musicians, and explored local attractions like the World of Coca-Cola and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Justin said, “We’ve all gotten much closer to each other.” “There was a little stress and anxiety, but after that, it was really just a great sense of friendship and happiness,” said concertmaster Aiden Chantemsin.
Overall, Ms. Merten and the orchestra were proud to take home the Grand National Champion trophy. She said, “I’m really proud of the students and how hard they work to get here. It wasn’t something that we could just easily do. 100% of them had to put in 100% effort, and they really did.”
