The Lincoln East Music Department is producing its annual Orchestra Finale concert in the auditorium at 7 pm this coming Tuesday, February 14.The show will include the 7th and 8th grade orchestras from Lux Middle School, the East Freshman Orchestra, the East Varsity Orchestra, and even members from the East Wind Ensemble.

The Finale concert stands out from other instrumental performances because the ensembles play more than classical music. Aside from the two Senior Soloist pieces–to be performed by Shane Clegg and Felix Cui– the songs contribute to an over-arching theme. Being planned for Valentine’s Day, this year’s theme is Love. Despite what you might think, the music is more than just Romantic. Specifically speaking, the theme is based on the four main types of Greek Love: Eros, Agape, Storge, and Philia. Eros is the most well known-Romantic Love- while Philia is Friendly or Brotherly Love. Storge is Family Love and Agape is Unconditional Love. This concert is an exciting endeavor because it gives students the chance to put together a concert that’s a little out of the ordinary. The auditorium gets decorated, players wear theme-related attire, and there’s a little action during the music. For example, dancers performed with the music for the Irish theme in 2015.

This is a busy time of year for many music students. Members of the school’s wind ensemble are double-timing with their work for Finale because they just had a show last night, Monday, February 6. Multiple string players have a lot to juggle as well. Junior cellist, Jesse West, revealed that he, and a number of his orchestra colleagues, will be very busy during the next two weeks. On the coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday a handful of students will be participating in the Wesleyan Honor Orchestra. Others will perform on Sunday, February 12, in a show through the Lincoln Youth Symphony. Monday consists of a four hour, full-run rehearsal before the audience arrives on Tuesday! Once Finale is over, you would imagine that students would finally catch a break, but many will be participating in the Solo and Ensemble Competition on the following Saturday at NorthStar High School. West reflects on all the work he’s put in for this concert and says, “If you’re free and don’t have anything going on, you should definitely try to come [because] it only happens once a year, and the themes change every time”. February 14 is the day of love so why don’t you spread some love to the music department and attend the Finale Concert?