Fifth grade students putting bow to strings launched the All City Orchestra's I Love Music Concert on Wednesday night at B.M.C. Durfee High School's Nagle Auditorium.
Close to 200 kids in Grades 5 to 12 performed as part of the All City Orchestra Concert that night. The Middle School Orchestra was up next, followed by the Fall River Youth Orchestra and the B.M.C. Durfee String Orchestra. All of the students joined together on stage for the finale, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.”
For the past few months, the students have been learning the song, an orchestral arrangement of the Dropkick Murphys’ tune. Pairing the younger kids with mentors from the high school helped them learn the challenging song, said Jacqueline Francisco, director of Fine and Performing Arts for the Fall River school system.
This year, Francisco said she was able to allocate funding for a weekly after-school program to provide the orchestra and band students with practice after school with their teachers. “It’s like getting private lessons. And many of our kids can’t get private lessons, so for them it’s great.”
As opposed to previous years leading up to the All City concerts, the students had the extra time to work on the songs in preparation for the concert. “They’ve been practicing since October and they were able to practice the songs with their peers. We’re finding that the kids are performing at a higher level now because of the hour and half after-school time. And they really seem to like it.”
Wednesday was the opportunity for students learning violin, viola and cello to shine. And the night before, the woodwinds, brass and percussion students -- about 150 of them -- had their turn at the All City Band Concert. “They did really well,” said Francisco of the concerts.
In June, she said, they’re hoping to showcase the newly revived All City Chorus for a performance.
“The kids are doing excellent,” said Nicole Laprise, who teaches the elementary, middle school and high school orchestra programs.
The All City concerts also give kids in schools with smaller programs the opportunity to grow through exposure. “This is the fifth-graders' first time playing outside their schools,” said Laprise.
Matt Malone, Fall River superintendent of schools, praised Francisco for the music program as well as all of the arts programs she’s spearheaded in the schools. “We know that kids who engage in arts stay in school. It’s an outlet for creativity and connectivity. We’re excited; we know a key piece of our overall improvement strategy is to invest in the arts,” said Malone as he prepared to head into the concert.
Email Linda Murphy at lmurphy@heraldnews.com.