Soaring Hawks at Relish

Hembree Springs Elementary School’s Soaring Hawks Foundation (SHF) recently held its kick-off party at Relish Restaurant in downtown Roswell. Nearly one hundred supporters attended and were treated to live music provided by local Roswell High School orchestra members James Morelli, Joel Smith and Joe Lyons along with a Chef’s Showcase of Relish’s most popular menu items.

“Thank you to these talented young men who play for the RHS Orchestra. We greatly appreciate their participation,” said Tracey Underwood, Board Member of the Soaring Hawks Foundation.

Orchestra in Space

Wow, what an amazing birthday event! Thanks a million to Mrs. White and her orchestra. Certainly have never had such a cool and musical birthday wish before. It sounded great and was a total surprise! – Steve

Not everyone gets a special serenade over the phone on their 55th birthday, but Stephen Robinson was fortunate enough to have connections with the Roswell Orchestra. Not your everyday gig, but again, Steve is not your everyday audience. He’s a fellow musician who plays lead guitar in Max Q, a rock-n-roll band, along with bass, banjo, mandolin, pedal-steel guitar, and cello.

Did we mention he is also a NASA Astronaut with a Doctorate in mechanical engineering and a minor in aeronautics and astronautics? Dr. Robinson has been flying since age 14, and has logged over 3500 hours in flight vehicles ranging from antique taildraggers to NASA space shuttles.

He was selected as an astronaut in 1994 and has held various technical assignments within the Astronaut Office including: testing space shuttle control software, developing on-board computer and flight crew equipment, helping to develop the Space Station robot arm, and leading an astronaut team to specify window requirements for the new Orion crew capsule. He has also served as Spacecraft Communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control for 13 shuttle missions, functioning as the voice link between space shuttle crews and Mission Control. Most recently, Robinson served for two years as Chief of Safety for the Astronaut Office. Stephen Robinson has flown on four Space Shuttle missions, and has also served as a back-up crewmember for the fourth crew of the International Space Station.

But….he had never heard happy birthday played as well. Thank you, RHS Concert Orchestra, for an impromptu and delightful surprise.

Thank You RHS Orchestra

We were delighted to hear Joe serenading the attendees at the garden dedication. It changed the ambience totally! He is very talented indeed. We look forward to future opportunities to hear the Roswell Orchestra members perform.

Please convey our sincere thanks and gratitude for his participation in the Unity Garden celebration. Many people in North Fulton will benefit from the fresh produce as a result of Kaiser’s grant. This small farm will help us yield not only crops, but also an awareness of how to garden in the first community garden of its kind in North Fulton, supporting our local food bank. It is a great lesson for our younger generation about ‘farm to table’ and giving back to the community. Joe was a part of that in giving of his talents too.

Thank you again,
Lynn McIntyre
Director of Community Relations
Chattahoochee Nature Center

CMS Orchestra Fall Concert

Roswell Orchestra members Sophie Chang, Carlyn Gilbert, Kristen Jensen, Joe Lyons and James Morelli assisted the middle school orchestra students at Crabapple’s Fall Concert at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 28.

It was a wonderful concert, as always, and thank you to the parents, families and others who attended in support of the Roswell Orchestra Cluster. Crabapple Middle School, Elkins Pointe Middle School, Sweet Apple Elementary, Mountain Park Elementary and Roswell North Elementary School serve as primary feeder programs to the RHS Orchestra.

We appreciate Orchestra Directors Ms. White at Crabapple and Mr. Gamba at Elkins Pointe for their tremendous support of this year’s Roswell music program.

Stars and Gigs

Congratulations to four Roswell Orchestra students who successfully auditioned and passed the first round of All-State Orchestra! Carlyn Gilbert (viola), Taylor Sieling (violin), Joel Smith (violin) and Jamie Xie (violin) will join Joe Lyons (cello) for the All-State Final Rounds in January. Those selected will join their counterparts across the state for a weekend in Savannah in March for the prestigious annual All-State Orchestra and Band events.

Accolades to these five talented, hard working musicians who have spent hundreds of hours preparing for this endeavor. Check this blog for their progress as they compete against the “other” best high school orchestra students in Georgia.

Members of the entire RHS Orchestra continue to be in demand throughout our community as well. Recent and new upcoming gigs include the National Honor Society Induction, Habitat for Humanity 15th Anniversary – 200th House Building Celebration and VIP Breakfast for Freshman.

If you have contacts for other local venues, please let us know as these Roswell Orchestra musicians are impressing audiences at every performance and exponentially raising the visibility of the RHS music program. Great job, Roswell Orchestra and Ms. Sara White, Director.

AWESOME Fall Concert!

Dr. Spurka,

Last night I attended the RHS Orchestra concert and it was AWESOME!!! The music that the kids played was outstanding. Ms. White has done a great job with them. The music program at RHS is great and I know for a fact that my daughter, Ashlei Mitchell, loves playing in the RHS orchestra and plans to stay in the orchestra program throughout her high school years til she graduates in 2014.

Ms. White and the entire orchestra program are assets that Roswell High School should be proud of.

Have A Good Day.

Regards,
Dronda Mitchell

Fall Concert a Major Hit

“Overall the finest high school orchestra performance I’ve  seen”-Barbara Hamilton Cerny, Music Coordinator of Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Associates.

This was one of many accolades RHS Orchestra received for their dynamic performance at the annual Fall Concert on October 21. From the opening National Anthem played by Taylor Sieling and Joe Lyons to soloists Caroline Baker, Sujith Cherukumilli, Alia Lahr, Anand Srinivasan, Jamie Xie, Matt Lopez and Joel Smith to the high energy conducting by Joe Lyons and Mariana Coronel, this lively performance showcased the talents of all the Roswell Orchestra members.

Congratulations to both the Concert and Chamber Orchestras for your best show yet. Keep up the great work!