Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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e Orchestra It seems probable that music IS the oldest of the fine arts for wasn t it discovered among ancient nations exen those entirely ignorant of every other art? A number of instruments are mentioned in the Scripture and so we are led to belleve that music played a practical part in the Biblical days as it vxas so constantly used in connection with song and dance lrrom crude instruments shaped like snakes and other animals rat tles made of gourds filled with pebbles or seeds or flutes of hollovx bones to bands of five or six drums which were skins stretched ox er hollowed trunks of treees and twelve flutes a crude orchestra was com pleted in its way for always man must satisfy h1s sense of rhythm his love of noise and excitement We glance at ancient civilized nations who were doubtlessly more artistic than pr1m1t1ve men for we fmd that the Greeks accompanied their vocal music with instruments but were independent of all harmonic parts which is the special function of the modern orchestra It vvas from the vocal music that the first step began in the connection with the modern orchestra lt appeared in the Sew en teenth Century in the form of an opera produced in Italy The opera was accompanied by an orchestra and included one bowed instrument A conductor s score was not used but a bass and harmony vtere gix en although details were left to the players The first man to have the beginning of the modern Wagnerian or chestra was Claudio Mondtevedi known for his preponderant use of Then came Hayden who gave us the symphonic orchestra its typical form in four separate movements The last development of the orchestra is in the opera where it origi nally made its first marked step Richard Wagner had the complete form He specified his mstruments and added more and more new har monies for the instruments to glxe the richness of color and as his imag mation called for it new forms of combinations So with such an or chestra as the Wagnerian one with a number of performers on different instruments playing different parts ingeniously interwoven and harmon ized especially to suit the emotional characteristic of each instrument the souls of man can be swayed as by the forces of nature Our ohnstown High School Orchestra is a little Wagnerlan one wh1ch plays the music of the masters It is ably conducted by Mr C Porter Huntington and has a membership of about sixty players vxho vt ork for the pure enjoyment of good music The orchestra s activities are many Elex en members attended the All Western Orchestra at Bellex ue Pennsylvania early in December The members vxere Richard Rishell Kenneth W1SH1Skl oseph Kovs chak Margaret Carmany Natalie Hollern Martha Louther Carmel Coco Homer Denmson Iohn Slater Gene Head and Catherine Cole man February the 25 26 27 at Mt Lebanon the following were se lected for All State Orchestra Richard Rishell Kenneth Wisniski Car mel Coco Margaret Louther Natalle Hollern and Ioseph Kowchak 7 . . , 7 . V strings. His orchestra consisted of twenty-two out of thirty-six strings. . ' . 7 ' A A - Y ' - . V. . V D . ' , ' - - - 'V I ,-

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Horns cmd Trumpets h nc been llnked xuth vwnr and rel1g1on from t1me 1mmemor1al but the w1nd band plrmned to furnlsh concerted mus1c IS the wxork of the last century The or1g1n of the band takes us back to the epoch of the gu1lds Bag QIPQS and shepherd s plpes were the co1npan1ons of the wandermg m1nstrels who chose 1n the Thlrteenth Century to congregite 1n tovx ns ind c1t1es form1ng gu1lds Many of the mmstrels est1bl1shed themselxes at houses of prmces others yomed the '1rmy of f1fers and drummers It IS sa1d that 1f the mstrument of bronze the upper part and mouth PIQCB of sol1d gold had not been dug up at Pompen the trombone mlght haxe been lost to us forewer but 1n Queen Ehzabeth s day a band of ten trumpets and 5111 trombones bes1des 1 few other 1nstruments ha1led her xx1th much pomp and clrcumstance The town bands were of f1fes shepherds plpes a k1nd of tenor oboe lbombard horns l1ke cows horns wx1th sm holes and a mouthplece llmkenl bagp1pes and v1ols all of vt h1ch played the melody together bass of oboes and reg1mental drums lVleanwh1le the royal trumpet vxh1ch played only harmon1ca f1lled out the m1ss1ng parts The trumpet ult1m1tely acqu1red xalwes but the 1nxent1on and 1m prox ement of the clar1net began the era of the modern band In the rap1dly developmg orchestra the employment of the w1nd 1nstruments showed the way to the1r comb1nat1on 1nto the art1st1c Wlnd band The ohnstoxxn Hlgh School band has long been 1 fawor1te both vnth the old and the young VVh1le It lb known for 1ts march1ng and dr1ll1ng It lb equwlly known for 1ts art1st1c work haung been placed xery h1gh 1n all contests whlch It ex er entered The band IS an organ1zat1on of bilanced sectlons and studles the xx orks of the modern as vt ell as the past masters for example The P1e lude to Act II of Lohengrm by R1chard Wagner Ensemble work by the Johnstown l'l1gh Band 15 employed and has attalned ex ery des111ble comb1nat1on of mstruments MUb1C for each his been secured and worked out The band under the capable management of Charles l A1key IS heard 1n publ1c concerts wxh1ch d1splay clearly the work of the band throuqhout the semester e Band 1 . . 1 1 , I .L sl ' 7 . ' ' . c V ' T. 1 ' v 1' C ' ' ,' ' . ' . V . Louise XlV's bands consisted of a quartet, soprano. alto, tenor, 7 . cl ' , V A l. '. . C . V , 1' . V . . n 7- C . I . .1 V . A V I C . . Y . .1 C . X 7 3 Y. 7 ' 7 'Z C Z ' .- ' ' l' c, V f A v wr vc ' ' ' 1 -l 1' C xx

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The orchestrw also his pllvcd 1n Ch lpcl md it the VV llnut Groxc Unlted Brethren Church lndlxldual members have been grouped to gether into xarxous ensembles and hixe entertwlned at many social affalrs Song IS an outpour1ng of the heart and an art1st1c embochment of the language of emotlon oy gr1ef pa1n love hope hero1sm and fortltude xx1ll remaxn her fax orlte themes to the end Mox ed by such feehng pr1m1t1ve man f1rst ralsed h1s VOICQ 1n accents of pass1on and qave hrs trxals of the clay or of the chase or of War around the camp flre ln a constant VOICG wh1ch gaxe the practlcal effect of the ch'1nt or practlce of 1ntonat1on A perlod of experxmentlng saw much ln the de xelopment two three or ex en four notes yxere added and thus began the transformatron of speech 1nto song Dancmg played a great part ln the development Wlth men accommodatrng thelr song to the beats of thelr feet xnfluenclng the melodles and group1ng the notes 1nto bars and phrases In th1s vxay cho1rs choruses and sololsts came to outpour the1r hearts 1nto song the one th1ng everyone IS capable of domg or has a deslre to do 'it one t1me or other Chorus act1x1t1es xn h1gh school today enjoy a hrgher plane of exlst ence ln the school program than was the1r condltlon a generatlon ago In those days the rehearsal per1ods vxere spasmodxc and 1rregular the or ganlzatron was usually termed a Cvlee Club and nts repertolre con slsted malnly of tr1fles such as The Bull Frog on the Bank or slckly sentlmental tunes and xx ords of the type Bobolmk Tell Me Tell Me True Today the chorus occupies a dlgnlfled place ln the school currlcu lum It IS an organ1zat1on of balanced sect1ons studylng works writ ten ln four SIX sexen or exght parts Educators today b6l16W6 that serlous and worthy muslc has as much 1ust1f1cat1on 1n the school pro grams as the study ofEngl1sh or a forelgn language The Chorus studles vxorks from the x 1r1ous schools of muslc datmg back from xvorks of the early church to those of the modern perlod VV1th1n the xocal l1m1ta txons of the hlgh school xoxces the vxorks xx h1ch are studled represent the hlghest type of music llterature from masters ln that fleld The fol loxxmg l1st w1ll 1llustrate the types and perlod yxhxch are exempllfled through study Adoremus Te Palestrlna M2dl36X3l Church Be s1de Thy Cradle Bach Early Classlc Axe Verum Corpus Mo zart Later Qlasslc Fmile from Cvondohers Sulllxan Llqht Opera The Three Kmgs Wxllan Modern Sacred Cnrgoes Lutkm Modern Secular Both the medlum of a capella and accornpanled s1ng1ng are em ployed by the lohnstovxn High School Chorus Sexeral performances ire yearly glxen tnese performances ter mlnite usually a semesters xx ork Many hours of addxtlonal t1me are dlhgentlv spent by our most capable dlrector Mxss Mary Weux er and the h1gh school puplls of the chorus besldes the scheduled tlme for regu lar rehearsals e Chorus . , Y , . , ' , . V Y 'm , r., . , c c I T c x c c c . -. . . Y S . . c ' c . Y Y c Z I h . 7. . V . Y Y C Y Y Y Y K . ' lc ' Y . Y , Y Y Y . . . . L Y Y Y i . I . . Y Y Y Y S c. . , 7 . . . F Y Y . . ll YY . . ' - . . . l. YY . . U . . , . Y Y Y YY Y - ' . , ' Y - Y Y - Y Y 1 C ' v A . ' - . . Y . 7 V . . Y 7. . . . . 7 . . . H H . . ll j ,-4 ,... ' ' - Y . YY . ll YY .-. .-. : ' ,i, , -. . ll , . , Y .Y , . ,-Y ' C ... ' ,.. 1 ll , YY . l. 1 Y. , C --f -- Y c L' .... , ' . w . . c I ' - . 1 H Yv V Y . . . c . I L Q I I . ' c ' ,