Never before the night of February 26, 2014 had I been in a symphony orchestra. It was a first experience for me and I really won't be able to forget it easily. The Grand Valley State University Symphony Orchestra as well as the Chamber Orchestra performed that evening and it was quite a spectacle. The concert was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. and knowing that, I arrived at 7:30 p.m. to ensure I could fully enjoy the experiences that will take place before the show actually begins. As I entered the Louis Armstrong Theater, I saw many, many instruments sitting on the stage as well as more open seats that the orchestra had seated from the beginning of the show. As the performers gathered in their seats and the conductor, Henry Duitman, walked past them, we all knew the show was about to begin. Once all the performers were seated and the show had begun, the first piece they performed was called Huldigungsmarsch from “Sigurd Jorsalfar”. The piece was originally composed by Edward Grieg and was performed brilliantly by the orchestra. There were many, many elements involved in the play that we learned about in class. The very beginning of the song was quite soft or piano and a few bars later gradually became loud. This happened several times throughout the first piece, as all performers and instruments were involved. At the very beginning of the piece, only the woodwinds played the notes, then as the piece started to get louder, the brass joined in as well as all the other groups of instruments. As the piece progressed, there were many parts where polyphony occurred regularly. Often the brass and strings would play at the same time, but they would play different things. The end of the song sounded like... middle of paper... rumblings of the song as well. The song was rich and full of color and was just an upbeat and enjoyable piece to listen to. Towards the end of the composition the sound gradually became louder, then when the last notes were played the emphasis was placed on them. They also seemed to end the song on a full cadence to really make it feel like the song was finished. At the end of the evening, when I left the theater, I was glad I had gone to the orchestra. Without this class, I never would have felt the need to go, and I probably never would have gone. The music was very well played and you could tell that countless hours went into producing the beautiful music I heard that evening. My favorite piece was the one composed by Josef Suk because it seemed so light and happy. The Louis Armstrong Theater was the perfect venue on the night of February 26th and it will be a day I won't forget.