Golden Snake Dance overview

 BY CHARLIE XIA

      CHANDLER – This year is the Year of the Snake in China. The volunteer group The 8 Foundation, which I am part of, participated in an instrumental ensemble performance at the AAA Spring Festival Concert. The piece we performed is called “The Golden Snake Dance”, and the orchestra consists of 36 people, with instruments including the cello, violin, viola, flute, clarinet, piano, drums, and cymbals. I am part of the flute group, which has three members: me, Jamila, and Tristan.

      Last year, we also participated in a large ensemble with 21 instrumentalists at the same venue. It's great to see the number of volunteer musicians growing. Last year's piece was called “One Way Ticket”. It was not easy, but we still managed to complete it and memorize it in just over a month. This year's piece, “The Golden Snake Dance”, was also challenging, but we had an extra half month of practice time compared to last year, and by the end, everyone had memorized their parts.
      

      After working together last year, Jamila, Tristan, and I are able to collaborate fairly well. We have practiced together as a trio five times over the past two months, taking turns hosting rehearsals at each other's homes. We also participated in seven full ensemble rehearsals. The piece was specially arranged for our orchestra by Mr. Liu, and each instrument has its own sheet music, making it easier for us to practice.
     

 On January 18th, the AAA Spring Festival Concert began. We gathered at Chandler Art Center in the afternoon for rehearsal and then had a very long wait in the dressing room. During that time, we ate some pizza backstage, and many people left to go home. As the performance drew near, the people who had left returned, and then we went on stage and performed the piece quite well.
  

    At the end of the performance, some people ran to the front to watch the following performances, while others were playing games like shooting toy guns or hide and seek backstage. Finally, when all the performances ended, all the performers went back on stage for pictures and to greet the audience.

      We will be performing together again next year, and I hope to see you there! – This year is the Year of the Snake in China. The volunteer group The 8 Foundation, which I am part of, participated in an instrumental ensemble performance at the AAA Spring Festival Concert. The piece we performed is called “The Golden Snake Dance”, and the orchestra consists of 36 people, with instruments including the cello, violin, viola, flute, clarinet, piano,rums, and cymbals. I am part of the flute group, which has three members: me, Jamila, and Tristan.
Last year, we also participated in a large ensemble with 21 instrumentalists at the same venue. It's great to see the number of volunteer musicians growing. Last year’s piece was called “One Way Ticket”. It was not easy, but we still managed to complete it and memorize it in just over a month. This year's piece, “The Golden Snake Dance”, was also challenging, but we had an extra half month of practice time compared to last year, and by the end, everyone had memorized their parts.
      After working together last year, Jamila, Tristan, and I are able to collaborate fairly well. We have practiced together as a trio five times over the past two months, taking turns hosting rehearsals at each other's homes. We also participated in seven full ensemble rehearsals. The piece was specially arranged for our orchestra by Mr. Liu, and each instrument has its own sheet music, making it easier for us to practice.
       On January 18th, the AAA Spring Festival Concert began. We gathered at Chandler Art Center in the afternoon for rehearsal and then had a very long wait in the dressing room. During that time, we ate some pizza backstage, and many people left to go home. As the performance drew near, the people who had left returned, and then we went on stage and performed the piece quite well.
At the end of the performance, some people ran to the front to watch the following performances, while others were playing games like shooting toy guns or hide and seek backstage. Finally, when all the performances ended, all the performers went back on stage for pictures and to greet the audience.
We will be performing together again next year, and I hope to see you there!