Scholar & Athlete

Music department promises great spring concerts

Thursday, May 17, 2012 By Anthony Blake

By Anthony Blake Staff Reporter Every year, the Tracy High band, choir, and orchestra play spring concerts to end the year. The band plays a separate concert on May 18, and choir and orchestra have a combined concert on May 24. Both performances take place at the Grand Theater on Central Avenue in downtown Tracy . Band Director Michael Costa has set up eight pieces that will display all of the divisions of the school’s band, and several pieces to put the spotlight on a few students. Along with the regular schedule, Costa has planned an extra surprise for the audience. Costa’s 8-year old son, Ezra, will be guest conducting for the song “Amparito Roca.” “He’s definitely into music,” Michael Costa said, “He hasn’t really picked up an instrument yet, but he’s really into singing, and he loves watching conductors.” Ezra Costa is currently in a second and third grade combination class, and has excelled in other educational fields. Ezra Costa says he is excited to conduct just like his father. Tom Renner from the choir and orchestra department has planned a great performance with a “grand finale” to close off the year. The concert will display all four of Renner’s classes, with performances by the Concert Choir, Choral Company, String Orchestra, Madrigals, and a grand finale by the Women’s Choir. Several of the pieces will feature multiple classes, while others will display talented soloists such as Angela Mezgarzadeh and Israel Gomez. “The pieces really reflect what the students have learned this year,” Renner said, “and I’m confident that it will show in this performance.” Renner also said that while these pieces may seem simple in some aspects, they are a challenge in many other ways and students need to practice diligently to perform well. Jack O’Brien, a senior in the orchestra, said that the spring concert is by far his favorite concert of the year. “It really shows what we have learned,” O’Brien said, “and because this is my last year playing the concert, I’m sure that it will be very emotional.” O’Brien plays upright bass for the orchestra and will be playing a lead solo part in the piece “Symphony Concertante.”