Orchestra season opens with light show

RIO RANCHO (Sept. 23, 2024) — It started with the disjointed tuning of strings and horns as the musicians warmed up, and it ended with a spectacular smoke-filled light show as the Rio Rancho High School and the Lincoln Middle School orchestras opened their seasons last week to a packed house.

The concert opened with the students at Lincoln Middle School, starting with the Beginning Orchestra, then on to the Cadet Orchestra and lastly the Advanced Orchestra. Selections from LMS included “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” “Fox and Goose” and “Artifacts” by Katheryn Griesinger.

The Lincoln students received a standing ovation before the stage was struck in preparation for the Rio Rancho High School Orchestra. The musicians and the song selection changed, but the orchestra director did not. Maestro Zachary Bush is the orchestra teacher at both LMS and RRHS.

Bush has degrees in music composition, music performance and music education from Colorado State University. He also holds master’s degrees in music composition, bass performance and a doctorate in music composition from Arizona State University.

According to his RRPS bio, Bush “is an award-winning composer and an active performer on double bass. He most recently played for the New Mexico Philharmonic as Acting Principal Bass during the 2022-2023 season. He also played principal bass in three Phoenix-based symphonies prior to arriving in Albuquerque.”

As a lifelong orchestral musician, Bush knows the effort and commitment it takes, and he is proud to see it in all of his students.

“The students worked exceptionally hard to prepare a program in only a couple of months,” said Bush. “The students work every day towards our performances. Not only are they learning the music, but they work on scales and technique to help them play and sound better. We had about 30 hours of class time to prepare and many students also practiced at home.”

After the LMS Orchestra, the RRHS musicians took the stage.

First, the Concert Orchestra dazzled the crowd with tunes like “Mandalorian Theme” by Ludwig Goransson, arranged by Robert Longfield, from the hit Disney+ series.

The finale of the show came courtesy of the RRHS Symphonic Orchestra, which took the stage last. Their first song, the Danny Elfman classic “This is Halloween,” was an immediate hit.

But the real showstopper was the final piece, “Fire in the Forge” by Ted Allen, which Bush presented as a light show complete with brilliantly changing colors and several smoke machines.

“Parents were thrilled with the concert,” Bush said later via email. “The light show at the end of the high school concert was especially popular.”

Putting on a show like this is no small feat, said Bush. Everyone puts in plenty of extra hours both on stage and behind the scenes to make sure everything goes off without a hitch.

“I'd like to (give a) shout out to all our soloists in the concert. They prepared extra to make the show really special,” he said. “I also want to acknowledge our lighting specialist for designing the light show at the end of the concert.”

This is the first of several concerts being offered by the district throughout the year, and Bush said he hopes to see all the music programs in Rio Rancho continue to grow.

“Our orchestra programs in Rio Rancho are growing and achieving high levels of excellence,” said Bush. “If any students are interested in joining orchestra, they should sign up next school year!”

The LMS and RRHS orchestras will team up again for a concert on Dec. 9 and the RRHS Performing Arts Center.

SET LIST

Lincoln Middle School:

Beginning orchestra

Boil Em Cabbage Down (Traditional)

Mary Had a Little Lamb (Traditional)

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (Traditional)

Cadet Orchestra

Lightly Row (Traditional)

Fox and Goose (Traditional)

Zum Gali Gali (Traditional)

Advanced Orchestra

Artifacts by Katheryn Griesinger

Aliens in the Attic by Tyler Acari

Rio Rancho High School:

Concert Orchestra

Mandalorian Theme by Ludwig Goransson, arranged by Robert Longfield

Measured Tones by Alan Lee Silva

Terra Nova by Richard Meyer

Symphonic Orchestra

This is Halloween by Danny Elfman, arranged by James Kazik

Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie written by Timothy Broege

Fire in the Forge by Ted Allen