From Brahms to Star Wars at Grenaa Gymnasium

Violins and cellos become interesting when Aarhus Symphony Orchestra comes by

On Tuesday, 28th of January after lunch, all students and teachers left Grenaa Gymnasium to enjoy a one-hour concert with Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. The school’s assembly hall was not big enough for an event of that scale and therefore everybody took a walk to the neighbouring sport center.

60 of Grenaa Gymnasium’s music students had perhaps been looking more forward to the event than the rest, as they were to be performing themselves in choirs by Carl Orff and Johannes Brahms. “This was a big challenge that was new to them, but they entered it fearlessly,” music teacher Ellen Møller says.

Lise-Marie Pedersen is a first year student and one of the fearless ones. “It was exciting to be part of,” she says, “and challenging to sing in Latin and German. I am not used to singing that way in such high notes. But when you see the musicians playing right in front of you, you feel it inside you too.”

Her classmate Laura Møller agrees. “It is a different experience to hear and see them play live. I have not been listening to classical music previously, but I am more keen on it now.” Lisa-Marie nods. “I felt that I would like to play the violin or cello myself. The movements look so cool.”

Joachim Møller Kaag and Alberte Stenumgaard Lind are final year students on Grenaa Gymnasium’s specialized study programme with music, and classical music and the history of music is part of their curriculum, but modern rhythmical music is dominant in the practical dimension. “Classical music is very different from rhythmical,” Alberte explains. “It is always fun to play music yourself that you have studied in theory. One feels lucky to have had this opportunity.”
Read about IB Music at Grenaa Gymnasium

Joachim agrees: “It is an honor that they chose to come to Grenaa Gymnasium and give us the experience of being with a whole orchestra of professional musicians.”
“It was also great to experience that even though we do not know a lot of classical music, they also played some that we actually did know,” Joachim adds, referring to the programme that had music from the Star Wars-movies and a part of Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Music teacher Ellen Møller explains that the programme was decided upon by music teachers from several gymnasiums including Grenaa Gymnasium and the orchestra, and that it aimed at diversity so that it fits nicely into the curriculum.