Student musicians were chosen from the Instrumental Music Program to play live music for Drama department’s spring play “The SpongeBob Musical,” giving the upcoming production a catchy and melodious due to its soundtrack.
The role of Pit Orchestra is to provide an accompaniment alongside the musical. The “pit”, a hole in the ground where musicians perform can hold up to 25 people. Preparation for the upcoming musical starts a few months prior to opening night. Before opening night, students work tirelessly in perfecting their music and scripts. Pit Orchestra provides the opportunity for students to improve their musicality and a chance to connect with peers.
“[Being in Pit Orchestra gives me] more experience and some more challenging music,” sophomore clarinetist Andrew Caparaz said. “Because the music is definitely harder than what we go over in my other band classes, it will definitely help me get better at playing the clarinet.”
Instruments needed for “The SpongeBob Musical” include drums, keyboard, the electric guitar, strings and wind instruments. Francia looks forward to making unique sound effects.
“I’m playing some of the sound effects for SpongeBob. For example I’m doing Mr. Crabs walk on SpongeBob. The adrenaline rush of learning a bunch of cool new percussion instruments is an amazing learning experience I will never forget,” junior percussionist Oscar Francia said.
Typical pit rehearsals include listening to previously recorded soundtracks, reviewing and running through the pieces.
“We [usually] run through at least 6-7 songs, and repeat them all at least twice,” Francia said. “Ms. Takahashi often plays the audio of the song we are going to play before we sight read it. At times if the song looks easy, we run it straight away. If there are any challenging parts, we end up going back to that section. When we don’t have enough time she reminds us to practice that part. I had to be able to sight read is hard with a bunch of sharps or flats.”
In addition to practicing and reviewing the assigned music, student musicians also have to balance the significant time commitment of Pit Orchestra rehearsals.
“[The sum of Pit Orchestra rehearsals is around] 100 hours. We start rehearsals right when school starts second semester,” senior flutist Kayla Oh said. “It’s weekly for a few weeks and then we start doing it twice a week, usually from 3:30 to 6:00. Once it gets near the beginning of March we start to have [rehearsals] daily.”
Despite the lengthy practices, student musicians look forward to connecting with fellow musicians and seeing the audience’s reaction.
“[Becoming close to people in Pit is something I’m looking forward to] since it changes every year,” Oh said. “I think it’s really cool to inspire new musicians. Since it’s my last year, I think I’ll try to enjoy the shows more, and be in the moment when I’m playing my music. It’s a cool experience being under the stage that not a lot of people ever get and I want to appreciate it.”
