According to Olivia Wang, Symphony Orchestra member and junior, orchestra members continue to prepare for Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) season in early May. Two songs Symphony Orchestra is currently working on are “Fifth Symphony” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and “Candide: Overture” by Leonard Bernstein.

Wang said she really enjoys playing “Candide: Overture.” “It is really fast-paced and fun to play. The notes, technicality wise, are not as hard as the Tchaikovsky one, so it’s a little easier to learn,” she said.

In addition, orchestra members are preparing for their upcoming trip to Vienna during spring break, which is open to all seniors, juniors and sophomores in orchestra. Assistant orchestra director Elisabeth Ohly-Davis said that passport pictures, medical forms and travel code of conducts were due on Jan. 23. The members, however, have yet to start practicing the pieces they plan to play, which will include some religious pieces, as they will perform at St. Stephen’s Cathedral.

Marya Meroueh, Symphony Orchestra member and senior, is going on the Vienna trip. She said, “I’ve never been outside of North America, so I’m really excited to visit another country…There’s a lot of music from Austria. Mozart came from there and some other composers. We’re also performing in this really nice church in Vienna, so I’m really excited about all these things.”